Crazy People, These Shinigami
by Kiwi-kiwi-kii
Summary: Can you be something without knowing it? Can you live your life not being human and not realizing it? And who the heck is this creepy fox-face guy with silver hair who's always following me? -my own character, future hinamorixhitsugaya-
1. Chapter 1

_Can you be something without knowing it? Can you live all your life not being human and not realizing it? I've always seen them, these strange monsters and lost souls. But Anna can see them too, so why does everyone single me out? And who the heck is this creepy fox-face guy with the silver hair who's always following me these days….? Whatever is going on, I don't think it's an excuse if I don't finish my homework tonight. _(my own character, and possibly future hinamorixhitsugaya)

**This story takes place around episode 135 of the anime, just to let you know.**

**Lotsa plot changes. Beware!**

CHAPTER ONE-

Containing:

One introduction

Some Neglected Macaroni

And An Unfortunate Window

"You know, it's illegal to break into someone's house…" I stated, without turning around. I was messing with the controls at the stove, trying to figure out how large the gas flame needed to be to boil water in the shortest time.

"So did you HEAR me, or did you sense my spiritual pressure?" There he goes again, talking about who-knows-what. I turned around. "Look, kid…."

"I am NOT a kid!" the boy growled. "You certainly look like one," I stated, raising my eyebrows. The boy continued, "In fact, I'm actually older than you are." "-This is the face of a seriously doubtful person, here-" "And I want to know how you defeated that hollow," he finished, looking serious. I sighed.

"Right, hollow, look. I didn't even know it was called that. I've always been doing stuff like this, killing… hollows. I'd think you were pranking me right now, but you can see them too, so… who did you say you were again?"

"Toshiro Hitsugaya, captain of the 10th division. A Shinigami. That hollow was an Adjuchas-class Menos, and I really want to know how you killed it, seeing as you appear to be completely human." "Does that mean it's a strong moste- um hollow?" "Yes. One of the strongest." "Well, that explains why it was so hard… and I didn't defeat it on my own. YOU popped in, wearing some weird kimono, and cut it with a sword…!" "That's my job. Protecting humans from hollows."

I sort-of-glared at him. I needed to work on my glares. "OK, maybe YOU should tell me a little more about what's going on, then, 'cause I don't have much more to explain." How did this guy get in my house, anyway? At least he wasn't as creepy as that other guy who's been appearing lately, 'fox-face' as I called him (in my head, that is, I've never actually talked to him…) … were they related? They had similar color hair… Wait, was Fox-face a Shinigami too? Probably. Then did ALL Shinigami have silver hair? It seemed a probably conclusion.

Interrupting what Toshiro was about to say, I stated, "Well, I can't be a Shinigami, I don't have silver hair. Or a sword, come to think of it. Though a sword would be kind of cool…" I mused, trailing off. "…What?" Toshiro said. "All Shinigami do not have silver hair. But the fact that you were able to severely damage an Adjuntas-class Men-" "Then who was that that other guy? He had silver hair and a sword too, but he wasn't as nice as you, he didn't help me with any battles—"

"Other guy? What other guy? We haven't sent any other forces to the World of the Living…"

"WHOA, WHOA, WHOA. Back up. World of the LIVING? I think you need to explain a little more…" Wait, why was I talking to this guy? I had no idea who he was, and he broke into my house… although he looks younger than me, so… what the heck and I supposed to do in this situation? Not to mention that he sees, and battles, giant monsters… but so do I! AAARGGH…. Let's see…

"Um, and, would you like some, er… macaroni?" I stated (sort of lamely), gesturing to the pot behind me. The water still wasn't boiling… "Macaroni? I thought you were making tea… Nevermind. You keep evading my questions. Who is this silver haired guy?"

I sighed, glancing out the window… huh? What a coincidence… "Speak of the devil, and the devil shall arrive," I mumbled. Though honestly, I did not want Mr. Fox-face in my house… talk about creepy. I glanced back at Toshiro (wait, was I on a first-name basis with him?) –

"HEY! Toshi-" I started, then stared, dumbfounded. There were now TWO Toshiros, one wearing the normal human clothes he came in and saying a cheerful, "yessir!" and the other wearing that kimono thing, holding a sword, and yelling, "Ichimaru!"

"What the- how- you- WHAT?" Toshiro glanced back, said, something about a gigai and soul candy, and then jumped.

Out the window.

The window…

The CLOSED window!

"HEY! You can't just- TOSHIRO! You- Shinigami! You are paying for that! What am I gonna tell my parents?" He was already out of sight, though, and so was Fox-face, leaving nothing but shattered glass on the floor, and the non-kimono-wearing Toshiro behind. I glared at him. He smiled. "Go away," I said.

I turned around, back to the stove. Maybe this was all a weird dream…

The water was boiling, but somehow I didn't really feel like macaroni anymore.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO-

Containing:

Surveillance

A name

A girl Named Anna

And A Failed Attempt for a Cinnibun

Momo Hinamori turned around and waved to the members of division four as she walked out the steps of their headquarters. She had recently been admitted there for a brief period, after being knocked out be General Yamamoto after becoming slightly hysterical while talking to Toshiro, who was stationed in the human world right now, along with Lieutenant Rangiku, Renji, Ikkaku, and Yumichika.

She sighed, missing them. Oh well, there was probably some job she needed to do, best to take her mind off it. Although as she made her way to her office, she mumbled,

"Guys… I miss you."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~AT URAHARA'S SHOP~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Seriously? You didn't get her name? You go through the trouble of tracking down this girl's house and then talking to her, and you don't even get her NAME?"

"Don't make it sound as if I were asking her out on a date, Ikkaku. As I was saying, I was interrupted before I could ask by a certain Gin Ichimaru, who appeared in her backyard. However, he got away before I could catch up to him. Apparently this isn't the first time he made his presence know to her, and what I was saying WAS, if Aizen and co. are interested in her, that means we need to keep a close surveillance."

"Ah? Taicho? Isn't that like stalking her?" "Matsumoto…"

Renji interrupted, "Captain Hitsuguya, I think we should at least know more about her. If Gin Ichimaru has been communicating with her, for all we know, she coul-"

"Helloooo! What did I miss?" Urahara came (ostentatiously) into the room, followed by Ururu, who brought a tray of tea.

Toshiro accepted a cup of tea and stated, "We were just discussing that human girl who was attacking the hollow. I know that some humans can see hollows and even Shinigami, but I've never heard of a human who can hold their own against a hollow of that level. Furthermore, Gin Ichimaru has apparently made contact with her."

"What's he doing in the World of the Living, anyway…?" Matsumoto asked, looking a bit depressed. "If Aizen is sending forces to the World of the Living, we should ask to get more Shinigami here as insurance." "We don't have proof that he is," Toshiro said. "But we defiantly need to figure out what Gin Ichimaru wants ... and who exactly this girl is."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~MEANWHILE~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I checked myself out in the mirror before I went to meet Anna at the mall. Luckily my parents didn't ground me for the broken window, regardless of my weak explanation (what was I supposed to say? Stupid Shinigami!) I was sort of short, and had a very flat chest, but my face was nicely shaped, my teeth were white, and my body balanced pretty well. I grabbed a hairbrush from the counter and ran it through my hair. I'm glad I liked my hair straight, because it was completely impervious to all attempts to curl or style it – it was light blonde and long, going almost to my waist. I've been thinking about cutting it- sometimes it proved a nuisance when battling hollows.

'The monsters', I mentally corrected myself, not 'hollows'. I was sort of ignoring my run-in with that supposed 'Shinigami'… but whatever, right? I had a mall to go to, with my best friend Anna.

Anna can see holl- … monsters too, but she can't fight them. She's been my neighbor for about eight years now- when she first moved here, she was sickly, shy, and weak. She's still homeschooled like back then, but stronger. At first I didn't like her much, but we stuck together once we figured out that we both saw lost souls and monsters…

I leaned closer to the mirror, brush in hand. My eyes were kind of weird. Lately they'd been taking on a strange violet color… pretty, but it made me stick out a bit. Purple eyes? I mean, seriously.

My name was odd, too – Sasalia. (That's Suh-sa-lee-ah) I'm pretty sure my parents made it up. I go by Sal, mostly. My last name is Maki, my middle name is Rai. Rai is actually a boy's name, but I like it for two reasons; one, because it means 'trust, lightning, thunder' and lightning is how I symbolize the way I fight. The second reason is because 'Rai' sounds more like Reizei, my original last name. My dad died when I was four, and my mom just recently remarried – it took her awhile to get over my dad. My stepdad is more serious than my dad was, but he's also extremely clumsy, and we're always laughing about that…

*zap* I dropped the hairbrush quickly (…and it landed on my foot. Typical). Remember me saying 'lightning was the way I symbolize the way I fight'… well, that is partly because, though not physically strong, I am much faster than the average person, flexible, balanced, etc. But I can't fight those monsters using just that…

"_That hollow was an Adjuchas-class Menos, and I really want to know how you killed it, seeing as you appear to be completely human."_

"_Does that mean it's a strong moste- um, hollow?" "Yes. One of the strongest" …_

Well. I was entitled to some secrets, wasn't I? So maybe I could use my chakra, or spiritual pressure, or whatever, to fight. Maybe my body has too many electrons or something. So what if I can sort of control static electricity…. I probably should pay more attention in science class.

My cell phone rang. I glanced at the screen-

Crap! Anna! I was ten minutes late. I flipped open the cell, thinking it would be nice to have an iphone… "Sorry, Anna! I was daydreaming; I'm heading out the door now," I said, grabbing my purse and slipping on my shoes. I balanced the phone between my cheek and shoulder, using both hands to maneuver my shoe.

"Um… actually…"

I stopped in the middle of tugging on my sneakers, confused at her timid tone. "What is it?" I asked, worried.

"Can you come to the bakery instead? I stopped here to get a Cinnibun"- she gasped, and I heard the sound of breaking glass and confused shouts. "Anna? What's wrong?" I asked, resuming motion, throwing my purse aside and grabbing the phone again. "Anna-?"

"I don't think anyone can see him- and he looks human, but he's…" "Anna, what are you talking about?" I demanded.

"It's one of those monsters… I think? OH-" There was a bang as the phone dropped to the floor.

_So you can see us, huh? _A muffled voice on the other end said.

_Stupid girl, can't you tell a hollow from an Arrancar? –click-_

My call disconnected. I was already rushing out the door.


	3. Chapter 3

**~Longer one!~**

CHAPTER THREE-

Containing:

A Crazy Espada

Cream Puff Missiles

And A New Skill

Renji was running an errand for Urahara (one of the many tasks the shopkeeper gave him) which led him to the bakery.

_The human world sure has a lot more pastries than we do, _he noted.

"I'd like a Cinnibun, please," a girl next to him ordered. She had short brown hair kept in place with a purple headband. Renji watched the man behind the counter take out some kind of brown glazed bun. He was considering buying one too, when the large picture window was shattered by someone leaping through.

Display stands of cupcakes and racks of doughnuts went flying everywhere! Some people were ducking under the few café tables and hiding around the corner, some were running out the door, a few were whipping out cell phones, and everyone was asking confused questions-

"W-what was that?" "Some kind of explosion!" "Don't step on the glass-!" "Are you okay?" "Mommy, look! It's a man!" "Is there something there?" "Geeze, what a mess…" "Careful!"

Renji ducked behind the counter and popped a soul candy into his mouth. He leapt out of his gigai and out from behind the counter, knocking over a tray of sample cream puffs.

"Roar, Zabimaru!"

"…Stupid girl, can't you tell a hollow from an Arrancar?" The man was saying. He had blue hair and a hollow fragment on his lower jawbone. Kicking aside the girl who ordered the Cinnibun, he turned to Renji. The man smiled. It was not a particularly nice smile.

"Grimmjow Jaggerjack, sexta espada. Where can I find a Shinigami called Ichigo Kurosaki?"

"…BANKAI!"

The Arrancar didn't look impressed. "Tcch, I'll find him on my own!" he said, hands in his pockets.

Knowing the effort would probably be futile, Renji whipped his bankai at the Arrancar. Grimmjow knocked it aside with one hand, not even turning back to look.

Then, a cream puff hit him in the head.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Renji had an odd urge to laugh. The cream from the cream puff exploded all over the left side of Grimmjow's forehead. Luckily, the humans had either all evacuated the bakery or were hiding in the bathroom, or they would have seen a floating, mangled cream puff.

All the humans, that is, except for the Cinnibun girl.

Who was crouching on the floor, several more cream puffs in hand.

The idiot!

"You little …" Grimmjow snarled, taking his other hand out of his pocket. "I'll kill-"

"Anna! Anna!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Back to Sal~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I jumped through the open window (not so much open as shattered, actually) and spotted Anna. She was crouching on the floor, holding some kind of little pastries. There was a little bit of blood on her forehead.

I looked at the two guys in the shop - one had blue hair and an annoyed expression, and was staring at me. The other had red hair in a pineapple-ponytail and weird tattoos, holding some kind of… some kind of something. It had a snake head and was long like a whip, but…

"Who're you, kid?" Blue-hair asked.

"Sasalia Maki," I answered. "and _what _are YOU?" I took a fighting stance.

"You can see us-?" Red pineapple asked.

"Heh," Blue-hair said. He was about to continue, but-

"_Sit upon the frozen heavens, Hyournimaru!_"The roof above the bakery's picture window was suddenly gone – _this place is so trashed, _I thought randomly – and Toshiro the Shinigami jumped in. He wasn't alone – some girl with orange hair (and enormous breasts…!) jumped in along with him. She was talking on a cell to some other people- calling in reinforcements, it sounded like.

That was good, because Blue-hair looked strong… more than that, he _felt _strong, I could feel it in my bones and in the somewhat suffocating aura around him.

He gave a cocky grin.

Red pineapple, Toshiro, and enormous-breast girl (I was starting to feel a little self-conscious) all tensed. I looked at Anna. She was edging backwards, towards the exit, but occasionally shooting glances at me. I winked, and took my signature fighting pose- standing straight, legs together, feet pointing at 90 degree angles, my left side towards my opponent, my left arm extended, hand loosely splayed, with the middle and pointer fingers forward.

I gathered my chakra and lightning energy.

"You, get out of here!" Toshiro said harshly. I figured he was talking to Anna, and was about to add that she should, but when I glanced back, he was looking at me!

"Not a chance," was, of course, my immediate reply. Between Toshiro and enormous-breast lady at the window, Red Pineapple across from them, and me somewhere between, closer to Anna, we had Blue-hair surrounded. Besides…

This guy hurt Anna. He was so dead.

"I mean it," Toshiro said. "I'll have Rangiku take you away by force if I have to."

"Yes, this guy is dangerous. He's an Espada…" The enormous-breasted lady (Rangiku, apparently) said. Blue-hair dropped his smile.

"Hello, getting bored here. Now where's that Shinigami…?" He looked expectantly at us.

"Matsumoto, take that other human away," Toshiro ordered. "Right, Taicho." She appeared next to Anna, whom she picked up, and then was gone with a swish, before I could even blink.

"Hey-" I started, but Blue-hair interrupted me before I could finish.

"Are you ignoring me? Or don't you know?" he said. Who did this guy think he was, at any rate? He was standing there all nonchalant, surrounded by me, Toshiro, Red Pineapple and his giant snake thing – and there was that big breasted lady coming back. Rangiku. She was quite fast.

"Forget it, I didn't come to fight you," Blue-hair scoffed. He turned, then vanished – not quite vanished, I noted. After seeing Rangiku do it, I was able to just barely trace him as he jumped, then ran.

I think I need more sleep… or was it the stress of the situation? Because it looked to me like he was running _across the air. _Probably he just went too fast for me to see… but _what did he run across_, then?

But… I could imagine that. I could see it, sort of – the people around me's spiritual pressure, their chakra or aura or whatever you wanted to call it. I could feel my own… I used it to fight, converting it into lightning somehow. I bet you could do other stuff with it, too…

I gathered my chakra once more, but this time, I concentrated it in my feet. It felt weird – I'd never tried anything like this before. But maybe…

It had only been a few seconds since he disappeared, Mr. Blue-hair. So!

"You're not getting away!" I called. Then I did it – I jumped.

I was aware that while fighting those monsters, the hollows, I gained more endurance, strength, and agility through the power of the chakra I was releasing (or spiritual pressure, as Toshiro would say). But I had never tried manipulating it like this, while not actually fighting something.

It was freaking awesome!

I jumped _onto _the roof. Do you realize how crazy that is? I just bunched my legs and jumped! On the roof! That's like ten feet straight up! Me! By jumping!

…Now what? Was I seriously considering using my chakra to sort-of-fly? Wait. That's crazy. Insane … but, so is jumping ten feet straight up…

_…And battling giant monsters that no one else can see? _Yea. That too. So.

I was just about to try it, but Toshiro and that lady - Rangiku – Jumped on the roof too, just like I did. Sort of ruined my buzz, that they did it too, and didn't seem to think it was that big of a deal…

"_What _are you doing?" Toshiro demanded. What was I doing? A good question. "Your spiritual pressure just increased, by a lot," There he goes again…. "Past that of a normal human's. Plus, you immediately used it to jump onto the roof- Have you been doing things like that before?"

"Well, sort of," I said. I glanced up – Blue-hair was long gone. It figures…

"'Sort of' is not an answer!" he said. "Now, Taicho…" Rangiku pouted. Taicho? What was a Taicho? It seemed to be that she was his subordinate. That was kind of funny, actually…

Crap! Anna! Where was she?

"Hey lady," I said.

"Lady? Me?" Rangiku said, sounding surprised. "Yes you!" I said, annoyed. "Where did you put Anna? …The human girl, I mean."

Red Pineapple jumped onto the roof with us. His giant snake thing was gone, I noticed. All three of them were wearing that kimono thing – although Toshiro was wearing some kind of white coat over that. It must be what signified them as Shinigami.

"Oh, her!" Rangiku said. "She's with Yumichika and Ikkaku!" "That doesn't help me at all," I mumbled, wondering what a 'Yumichika' was.

"What's going on?" Red Pineapple asked, looking from me to Toshiro to Rangiku. Toshiro briefly explained while I stood there, starting to feel self-conscious again. What was going on, indeed? But I didn't hear anything enlightening in Toshiro's explanation….

"So… bye," I said hurriedly. "Whoa, wait a minute," Toshiro said, turning to me.

"If you'll excuse me, I need to go get Anna-" still not exactly sure where she was but… "—and then me and her are going to the mall. Or if she's hurt, then…"

"Are you serious?" Red Pineapple asked. I stepped back a bit. What a weird-looking guy.

"My friend can see spirits too, so she probably won't be too freaked out," I said. "She's helped me with those monster attacks."

"Hollows," Toshiro said. "Anyway, I'm not exactly sure what to do now…"

I rubbed my nose, as I always do when I'm nervous or especially self-conscious (or about to sneeze), and looked to the right.

There was a bit of a crowd gathering below us, mostly concerned about the sudden destruction of the bakery. I could hear Police sirens in the distance.

Oh, WAIT!

I hit the floor (the roof, I mean) and layed flat. Crapcrapcrap!

"Oh, that's right!" Rangiku said. "The humans can't see us, but they _can _see you!"

CRAP! I was 'at the scene of the crime', sort of. People would wonder what I was doing on the roof… and how I got up here. How was I supposed to answer that?

These Shinigami….

I think I was starting to dislike them.

"I'll take care of it, Captain Hitsugaya," Red Pineapple said. He jumped down to the ground where the crowd was (wait, how was I gonna get down? I mean, I know I jumped up here, but ten feet is ten feet…) and pulled out some device. All of a sudden there was a giant puff of pink smoke.

_A handy ninja tool_, I though.

"Now, while their memories are being rewritten," Toshiro said.

"Okay, right … wait. WHAT?" I exclaimed. Rangiku grabbed me and jumped down (I think I might have screamed a little at this point) and zoomed away from the bakery.

_Anna_, I thought, confused. You'd think at this point, it would be a good time to pass out, but of course I wasn't that lucky… We came to a stop.

"What the heck!" I said, a little out of breath. "Shunpo, or flash step," Toshiro said. He was following us the whole time? He was sneaky like a ninja, to go with the ninja tools. Yeesh.

"…Now what?" I said grumpily.

"I want you to tell me the truth," Toshiro said. "What's with the sudden change of spiritual pressure?"

"Okay, Okay," I said. "You see, when I was six…"


	4. Chapter 4

**~This is my favorite chapter so far…it's pretty good, I think~**

**~feel free to review if you're interested :) ~**

CHAPTER FOUR-

Containing:

Reinforcements

A decision by Gin

Some Ice cream

Yachiru . . . And Root Beer Floats

And a Bit of Sneaking from the Soul Society

The backup team of Shinigami was assembled at the court where the senkaimon to the World of the Living was to be opened. As soon as General Yamamoto got the news from Captain Hitsuguya about Grimmjow and Gin Ichimaru, he ordered a squad to serve as reinforcements, in case Aizen had anything planned. Kira Izuru and several members of divisions three, two, and eleven, along with Captain Kenpachi Zaraki and his lieutenant Yachiru (firmly attached to his shoulder, as usual), prepared to travel to the human world.

Yachiru smiled, looking at her captain, who had a fierce grin on his face. They were going to see Ichigo, the man Kenpachi fought. A re-match, according to Kenpachi, was inevitable.

_Ken-chan's gonna have fun, _Yachiru thought gleefully.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~And In Hueco Mundo…~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

…Grimmjow was in trouble. Again.

This time for going to the World of the living without consent. He looked nonchalant, his hands in his jacket's pockets, getting sort-of-yelled-at by Tosen while Aizen looked on, slightly amused.

Gin was nowhere to be found.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~…Which was because…~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He was in the Human World again. Observing 'Miss Lightning-chan', as he liked to call her. She had snuck away from Urahara's Shop after a while with her human friend while the Shinigami who brought her there were arguing (_quite the feat- it looks's if she learned ta hide her spiritual pressure, _Gin noted). Gin watched as she and the human escaped, briefly visiting a shop where they got some kind of food, and then separated. It was getting dark, and becoming cloudy. Miss Lightning-chan went home, locking the door behind her.

Gin wondered if he should try to talk to her. She might come over to the Arrancar's side… but then again, he didn't know enough about her to risk that yet. He knew that she had the possibility to become very dangerous. At the moment, though, the very most she could handle was a Gillian-class menos, though she managed to survive an Adjuchas long enough to get the help of a captain, which apparently was enough to attract the attention of Soul Society.

Which was enough to make Gin sigh. They were going to make this difficult, those Shinigami. He was pretty sure they didn't know of her full potential, but still. It would be a problem if they got the 12th division to analyze her spiritual pressure. Not to mention that they would tell her not to go near him, so he couldn't convince her otherwise. She could be a powerful asset, with her strange flexible spiritual pressure… and she looked pretty interesting, too. Things were rather boring in Las Noches.

Well, it was too bad the Shinigami were interfering. He didn't want to do it, but it was time to tell Aizen about her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~…And it's Sal again. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Toshiro, Rangiku, and Renji took me to this sort of sleazy-looking shop that sold candy. It was run by a perky blonde guy wearing a bucket hat; he looked slightly crazy, but nice nonetheless. Anna was also there, brought by some angry bald guy and a man (I think it was a man, at least) with feathers attached to his eyebrows. Anna looked pretty confused, and to be honest, I probably did too. I explained to the Shinigami how I come to see spirits and battle hollows, about my lightning chakra, Mr. Fox-face, and a little about Anna. Her only comment was to say 'hi' when I introduced her, and decline the tea that was offered by the shopkeeper's assistants.

Apparently this sleazy candy shop was used as a base by the Shinigami. How odd.

It was getting late, so as soon as they were distracted, Anna and I slipped out. Not wanting the day to go completely to waste, we went to Dairy Queen and got some ice cream before I headed home, Anna leaving to go shopping briefly (she never did get that Cinnibun). I was reluctant to let her go alone, but she convinced me she would be fine – she got her cell phone back, so she could always call me again, anyway.

For some reason, I felt self-conscious again while walking to my house – I looked over my shoulder a few times to make sure no one was following me. I never saw anyone, but I still locked the door as soon as I got back. My mom wouldn't be home until tomorrow afternoon, visiting my grandma in Maine; my stepfather was currently on a business trip. It wasn't the first time I was home alone – Anna's parents were right next door if anything ever happened. Still…

Outside, it looked as if it might rain. The clouds were athering, making it darker than it already was.

I put a pot on the stove. I felt like having some macaroni.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Back to Urahara's Shop! *whewf* ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It wasn't long before the disappearance of Sasalia and Anna was discovered, but it was at that time that Kira and the members of the third, second, and eleventh squads arrived at the shop.

"Lieutenant Yachiru made Captain Kenpachi take her to buy some candy," Kira explained. "Knowing their skills of direction, they might be lost, but we can look for then later. We came on ahead because we felt traces of Gin's spiritual pressure soon after we separated."

Kira took the original team of Shinigami to the place. It was cold, and the wind was starting to blow.

"This is it," he said. "It's defiantly Ichimaru's spiritual pressure," Toshiro said. "Let's follow it. Call in some of the backup, just in case."

"Shouldn't we send someone to check on that human girl, to make sure no more Arrancar or anything finds her?" Kira asked. "Right… Renji," Toshiro said. "Huh? Why me?" "Because if anyone is there, you can hold then off for a bit, while we come in. Take some backup with you, too." "Alright, Taicho. See you." He jumped off… in the wrong direction, Rangiku noticed. She stared after him. "Wait, does he know where her house is?" she asked. "He'll find it. Let's follow the trail already," Ikkaku said, impatient. Yumichika was about to say something, but he was interrupted by a familiar spiritual presence…

Kenpachi jumped in, in his usual Kenpachi-like style; large, obvious, and destructive.

"Oh, Captain Kenpachi, we were just-" Kenpachi interrupted Kira, saying,

"Have any of you seen Yachiru?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~And it's back, again, to Sal~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This time, I actually got to eat my macaroni. I washed the pot and put my bowl in the dishwasher, not sure what to do now. It was a long day – a nice, relaxing hot bath would be nice. It was getting dark, anyway. I headed up to my room and looked out the window, facing the street. It was really dark now. _I bet it IS going to rain_, I thought_._ The streetlights came on just as I was looking at them – I wondered if that was an omen for something. Probably just a coincidence. I didn't believe in omens, anyway.

I was about to get up and go start the bath water when I noticed a flash of pink going down the street. I looked closer – it was a child. I wondered for a moment where her parents were, then noticed what she was wearing …

One of those Shinigami kimono things! _Oh, are you KIDDING me? _I thought. The day was long enough!

Unfortunately for me, the sky chose that moment to open up and rain, and what was I gonna do? Just let her stand there and get rained on? Ahhhggh… I ran downstairs.

"Hey, kid," I called out of the front door. "Are you lost?"

"Hiiii!," She called back, waving her and high in the air. _Okay… not really an answer, but… _"Umm, have you ever had a root beer float?" I yelled, thinking randomly. "A what?" she hollered. "Just … come in here! You'll get wet!" I yelled. She ran over.

"Hey," I said again. "What's your name?" "Yachiru Kusajishi," She said. "Nice ta meet cha!" "I'm Sasalia," I said. "Sasalia, that's a weird name," she giggled. "I'll call you… Saucy!" I raised my eyebrows. "Um, how about Sal?" "…I'll call you… Purple Eyes!" she decided. I wasn't sure if I was grimacing or grinning. This kid…

"Okay, and I'll call you Chiru-chan," I complied, not wanting this to go on all night. "So, how about that root beer float?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Here we go to…. Kenpachi! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"…What do you mean, have we seen Yachiru?" Yumichika asked. Was she lost? Ikkaku couldn't help but grin a little.

"Well, it looks like she left the candy store," Kenpachi said, "and I can't find her." He didn't look too worried, Kira noted, but it was best that they find her soon. She was a lieutenant, so she could take care of your average hollow easy enough, but in this situation….

"As if we didn't have enough going on," Toshiro grumbled. "Someone, go look for Yachiru. And we'd better have someone follow Renji, too – he's probably lost, after all."

Rain started to fall in slight droplets.

At that moment, Ichigo appeared, Rukia following close behind. "Sorry we're late," he said. "What's up?" Ikkaku took a deep breath and said,

"Reinforcements have arrived from soul society, we're here because we found traces of the spiritual pressure of Gin Ichimaru, who has apparently been following that girl Urahara should have told you about, you know, the one from the bakery incident who battles hollows, and we just sent Renji to check on her, but we think he's lost, so we were going to send someone to follow him … and now apparently Yachiru's lost too, so we have to do something about that."

"Yachiru? Um, the small one, with the pink hair?" Ichigo asked. "Yup," Kenpachi said, grinning. "And as soon as we find her, you and I are gonna have a rematch!" His hand drifted, and found his sword.

"Hey, now," Toshiro said. "We don't have time for this. We'll split into five parties; one to report back to Urahara and the reinforcements, one to follow Gin's spiritual pressure, one to find Yachiru, one to find Renji, and one to check that Sasalia's alright."

"Sasalia's the human girl from the bakery?" Rukia asked. "So, she's like Orihime and Chad, a human who has odd powers?" "Yes, but for some reason, Gin Ichimaru has been following her," Toshiro said. "Otherwise, we wouldn't be too worried."

The rain was falling harder now. Yumichika hovered his head with his hands and _tsk_-ed.

"So, who's searching for Yachiru?" Rangiku asked, oblivious to the drizzle. "I am," Kenpachi said. "I just wanted to see if you guys saw her anywhere. Later." With one last, menacing grin at Ichigo, he flash stepped away.

"All right, I'll track Gin's spiritual pressure," Toshiro said. "Kira, follow Kenpachi; Ikkaku, find Renji; Rangiku, find Sasalia; Yumichika, report back to Urahara."

"What should we do?" Ichigo asked, referring to himself and Rukia.

"Go with Yumichika to Urahara's – he'll fill you in on the whole situation. Now, let's go."

The group split up, each going a different direction, into what was soon becoming a rainy night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Meanwhile, in Soul Society~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A small figure slipped outside, following the shadows quietly. Pulling out her sword, she opened a senkaimon in the night air. It was raining in the World of the Living, she saw. Casting a last look behind her, she stepped through the portal. She knew she would be in big trouble for this later…

Momo Hinamori disappeared into the human world.


	5. Chapter 5

**~By the way, I don't own bleach. …But I do have some Clorox Detergent … hee hee *Ehem* just kidding.~**

**~Bleach and all the characters are not mine. Now I'll stop with the lame jokes and CONTINUE THE SHOW!~**

CHAPTER FIVE-

Containing:

More Root Beer Floats

Getting Lost

Aizen

And Another Problem

Okay …. I understood that people could like root beer floats. I mean, they ARE rather delicious. But I think this was taking it a bit too far…

The pink haired girl, Yachiru, kicked the kitchen counter, sending the stool she sat on spinning. Our kitchen stools were the bar kind, the ones that spun around, and she was living it up. She downed the last of the root beer that was in her mug, turned to me, and said, "More!"

I looked at her, exasperated. "Chiru-chan… that was your FOURTH CUP of root beer floats. Don't you think - ?" "I want more, Purple-eyes!" My (purple) eyes narrowed. This girl was going to make herself sick with all this sugar. "Don't they have root beer or ice cream where you come from?" I asked. "I've never had _root beer_ before," She said, giggling. "It's BUBBLY!" She sent the stool spinning again, her little arms in the air. I sighed. We were going to run out of ice cream soon, the way she was going.

"So…" I said, hoping to distract her from the floats, "are you a Shinigami?" "Yup," she replied happily, not at all surprised by the question. "Yachiru Kusajishi, lieutenant of division eleven." I stared at her. This girl was a _lieutenant_ – the same rank as those people, Rangiku and Renji were supposed to be? At least, that's what they told me at that weird candy shop place…

"Ken-chan's the captain," she continued merrily. "He's probably gonna come looking for me." I stared at her. Maybe she was only pretending to be a lieutenant. This 'Ken-chan' was probably just a friend of hers. "So, Chiru-chan –"

"Now, more root beer floats! Purple-eyes!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Meanwhile, Outside…~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was really raining now. Renji scowled and flash stepped to the top of a telephone pole. "You'd think they would at least give me directions!" He shouted to himself. Peering through the rain, he tried to locate Sasalia's house, to no avail.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Meanwhile, at Another Location Outside…~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rangiku Matsumoto was having a similar problem. For some reason, she couldn't trace the girl's spiritual pressure.

She sighed. It was becoming quite cold for a summer night, what with all the wind and rain. Wasn't summer supposed to be dry and hot? The weather was odd, and so was the situation.

_What the heck is going on? _She thought.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Meanwhile, on Jupiter…~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Just Kidding. Back to Renji. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ikkaku jumped from the top of pine tree and landed next to Renji. "So, you're lost after all," he said, grinning. "Shut up," Renji growled. "I am not lost! Now… how do we get back?" "Well…" Ikkaku started. He fell silent. "What?" Renji asked.

Ikkaku looked around. "Umm…" He was then pushed down by Renji, landing in a large puddle.

"YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW! You're lost too!"

"Shut up! I'm not lost!" Ikkaku yelled, jumping up. "Then HOW do we get BACK?" Renji demanded.

"Well… I don't know!" "GAAAHHH!" "Gah Yourself!" "Shut up! "No, YOU shut up!" "Baldy!" "Pineapple head!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Let's Move on, Shall We? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The trail of Gin's spiritual pressure just led around in a circle, and didn't give any more clues. _Gin probably did it on purpose to confuse us, and keep us busy, _Toshiro thought. He signaled for the team of backup Shinigami to return to Urahara's Shop. They were using the cave-like basement of the residence for the Shinigami reinforcements to stay in.

Toshiro went with them. At Urahara's Shop, none of the others had gotten back yet, so as soon as he reported what was going on, he set out again.

First, he came across Ikkaku and Renji, who were fighting. Toshiro pointed them in the correct direction, telling them to go back to the shop and dry off.

Next, he found Kira. "Kenpachi told me he could look for Yachiru himself, and then flash stepped away," Kira said apologetically. Kira, too, was sent back to the shop.

Now there was only Kenpachi out looking for Yachiru, and Rangiku who was sent to check on Sasalia. As he thought this, Toshiro literally bumped into Rangiku, who was coming the other way, from around a corner.

"Masumoto!" Toshiro said. "Sorry, Taicho," Rangiku trilled. "I think this rain is messing with my head. I can't seem to be able to trace Sasalia's Spiritual pressure!" With a sigh, Toshiro sent _her_ back to the shop also. Now it was just Kenpachi. Knowing his skills of tracking, or lack thereof, Toshiro was pretty sure he was unsuccessful in finding Yachiru. _Why do I always have to do everything myself? _He thought.

The rain was showing no signs of letting up anytime soon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~We spin the wheel and it lands on…~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kenpachi walked through the rain, heading down another street lined with houses and the occasional pine tree. No sign of Yachiru yet. "Where is that girl…" he grumbled. The moon wasn't visible through the thick layer of clouds overhead, which was not helping his search. Ah well. He would find her eventually. After all, how far could she go?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Meanwhile, Gin was up to something… ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At first, Aizen wasn't very interested. Who cared about one human girl, if all she could do was battle a menos-class hollow? Unusual, sure. But hardly enough to be bothered about.

However, he became a bit more interested as Gin explained about her strange flexible spiritual pressure; how she was already able to control it slightly, changing it into lightning and using it to jump higher than any human could.

Aizen wasn't happy that other Shinigami were also in contact with her. That would make it harder to get to her. But now, he wanted to see this girl for himself.

"Not tonight," Aizen said. "Tomorrow, we'll make contact with her. …And don't investigate things like this without telling me about them, Gin."

Grimmjow looked on, interested. Not about the human girl, but the fact that they were going back to the World of the Living. If he was able to go too, that meant he could finally have that rematch with Ichigo. He grinned menacingly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~In the Human World, It Was Sill Raining~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Really, it was downright pouring now. Toshiro flash stepped to Urahara's shop, intending to reassemble a squad to find Yachiru and Kenpachi. He would check on Sasalia himself, since he was, apparently, the only one who knew where her house was. Anyway, all he needed to do was pass by and make sure there were no traces of spiritual pressure that shouldn't be there, including Gins.

He was stopped at the door by Urahara.

"There's a bit of a … problem," he said to Toshiro, who groaned. How many things could go wrong in a single night? "There's someone here," Urahara continued. Looking past the shopkeeper, he saw that there was someone behind him.

"Hinamori? What the heck are you doing here?"


	6. Chapter 6

**~ Yay! New Chapter! And yes, dear reviewer, I think Gin's eyes are creepy too (cue extraterrestrial-sounding music) ~**

**~Anyway… apply the following terms to the proposition that I own anything in or related to bleach except Sasalia: NO! :) ~ **

**~Now, enjoy the show! Err, story. ~**

CHAPTER SIX-

Containing:

Searching

Raincoat Smocks

Root beer thievery

Ken-Chan?

And One More Root Beer, Minus the Float

Really, what was the point in arguing? Hinamori was being much too stubborn, and the truth was, they needed all the help they could get. So, regardless of what Toshiro wanted, Hinamori was outside with them (in the rain, in the very much pouring rain, on top of everything else…) helping them look for Yachiru (and Kenpachi, who was also looking for Yachiru). The rain seemed to be playing games with them, as it was suddenly hard to sense each other's spiritual pressure, and very easy to get lost.

Toshiro, Rangiku, Kira, Renji, Hinamori, and several of the backup Shinigami from divisions two and three were out searching, leaving Ikkaku and Yumichika with the rest of the eleventh division's team (and a couple from divisions two and three) back at the shop.

"Okay, everyone," Toshiro said. "This time, we're only splitting into two groups, and DON'T separate from those, please. We don't need anyone getting lost in this rain. Rangiku and I will search the southern end of the area, And Kira, Renji, and Hinamori will search the north. If you find anything, report it immediately using the communicators." He fingered a small electronic device clipped onto his collar.

_Just like old times, _Renji thought, remembering the days in the academy with Kira and Hinamori. It looked like they were reminiscing, too.

Toshiro continued, "Alright, everybody, let's … Masumoto, what is your problem?"

For the past minute or so, Rangiku had been trying to stifle some giggles. She grinned at Toshiro and said, "I can't help it, Taicho! It's these raincoats Urahara gave us." Toshiro was about to interrupt, asking what was so funny about them, but Rangiku continued, "You see, the raincoats are all rather large, and it's just that… oh, it looks like you're wearing a giant smock or something!" She burst out laughing.

Hinamori looked down. The raincoat was much too big for her, too, but at least she wasn't all wet. Although they sort of made it hard to move.

Meanwhile, Toshiro was trying to resist the urge to strangle his lieutenant. "On second thought, Hinamori and I will search the southern end. Rangiku, go with Kira and Renji."

"Hee hee- Aw, Taicho – hahaha!"

"LET'S GO!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It's Kenpachi Time! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

While the Captain and lieutenants were busy getting organized, Kenpachi was searching for Yachiru in his usual Kenpachi-ish style – that is, with no plan or system whatsoever.

He rounded yet another corner to a street that looked fairly familiar. Either all the streets looked alike, or he was going around in circles. Both were partly true.

He was getting annoyed now, and Kenpachi plus annoyance equals 'no fun for anyone near'. And by near, that means within a five-mile radius.

He turned right at the end of a short street, uncovering a small backroad-area he hadn't some across before. To his left, there was a forest of pine and maple trees, interrupted by a small road, and to his right, there were a few houses. One of the houses up ahead had a light on.

It was the kitchen light, and it illuminated part of a scene. There was a shortish girl with long hair chasing a small, fast figure around the house. The small figure seemed to be holding a box or something.

The way the small figure was running seemed familiar to Kenpachi – could that be Yachiru?

Well, there was one way to find out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Meanwhile, in Sasalia's House… ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"YACHIRU! Give me back the case of root beer! Hey! Yachiru! Stoppit _right now_!"

"WWHHEEEEEeeeeeeeeee!"

"Where do you think you're going? _Chiru-chan!_ Dammit! STOP! _Stop I say!_ Would you—" **-BANG- **"…Don't slam doors like that!" _… Oh, this was a mistake…_

"Wheeeee, ha ha ha! It's mine! The bubbly is MINE!" "…You're going to hurt yourself! ….Or my house! GOD, girl, what are you doi-"

**-BOOM- **

"Don't JUMP from the stairs!" "Nya nya nya!" **–SLAM-** "YACHIRU!" "You'll never catch me! HA HA HA!"

**-CRASH- **. . .** -THUD- **"WHHEEEEEEEEEEE!"

"YA! CHI! RU!"

**-**_**BANG-**_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Somewhere in the North Side of Town… ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rangiku looked up. "Hey, did you guys feel that?"

"Feel what?" Renji asked. "I thought I felt a trace of Yachiru's spiritual pressure." Rangiku said. "It's gone now, but… no wait! There it is again. It's coming from…. That way!" She pointed ahead and to the left. "I felt that one too," Kira said. "Let's go!"

The trio flash stepped away, disappearing into the rain…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ And At Sal's Kitchen…~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_**-BANG-**_

"AH-HA! I got you, Chiru-chan!" I quickly ripped the case of root beer away from her grasp. No more sugar for her tonight, _that_ was for sure.

"Awwww, Purple-eyes!" She pouted. Hopping up from the ground where I tackled her, she spun in a little circle. "Whaddya wanna play now?" I sighed. Everything was a game to this kid. How nice it must be.

I glanced at the clock.

"Hey, Chiru-chan, it's pretty late. Why don't you head home? Or are you lost or something?" "I'm not lost. I'm here, with Purple-eyes!" She hopped onto the couch, and kept bouncing. "Hey, it's springy! Look!" I rolled my eyes slightly, suppressing a yawn. Was it really just a few hours ago I was at the bakery, with those Shinigami, hopping ten feet onto the roof? It felt like forever ago.

…Oh yea, I forgot about that. My little super-girl stunt. It gave me an idea, though.

"Hey, Chiru-chan. How's about I show you something cool, and then I'll take you home?" If she really was lost, I suppose I could take her to that odd candy shop place, with the other Shinigami… I'm not sure if I could survive a night with her staying here.

"Ken-chan's gonna come and get me. But until then, show me, Purple-eyes!" She jumped down from the couch. I suppose I'd just take her to the shop afterwards, then. I wondered who this Ken-chan was. If he was someone Yachiru's age, I hope he wasn't out in the rain, at least.

Okay, enough of that. Time to balance my chakra… remember the bakery incident… okay.

I took out a bottle of root beer from the case she had abducted earlier. I pulled off its cap. I balanced the cap in my palm. Concentrate, concentrate. Yachiru was quiet for once, thankfully.

I pooled my chakra in my hand, around the cap. Slowly, I lifted the cap… with my chakra.

The cap levitated a couple inches above my hand. Yachiru's eyes widened.

"THAT'S SO COOL!" Well, so much for being quiet. "HOW'D YOU DO THAT, PURPLE-EYES?" How long was she going to call me that? At least I called her Chiru-chan, not Pink-hair or something. I let the cap float back to my hand.

"Well, I just sort of do it," I admitted. I wasn't really sure exactly HOW, as I'd explained to Toshiro, Rangiku…. um… oh, all those Shinigami people. Whatever. "Now, will you let me take you-" "Do it again, Purple-eyes!" Yeesh. How pushy.

I glanced at the open bottle of root beer on the floor. Hey, could I levitate liquids, too? I wonder….

**-BOOM!-**

"What the heck-?" I gasped, almost spilling the root beer. I jumped up. W_hat in the world was that? It sounded so close…_

All of a sudden, someone rounded the corner. Not just someone. A very big, very dangerous, very Shinigami-looking someone with black spiky hair and an eye-patch. He had a while coat similar to Toshiro's over his black Shinigami kimono thing. I stared.

"Ken-chan!"

_Ken-chan?_ Did Yachiru say KEN-CHAN? Was this enormous, dangerous person, Ken… CHAN?

Yachiru hopped over to Ken… um… to the Shinigami. She landed on his shoulder.

"Oh there you are, Yachiru," he grumbled. "I've been looking for you." "Sorry, Ken-chan," She giggled. Chan? Seriously? What the heck? Was this girl insane, or what? "I was with Purple-eyes!" Oh, great. Now he was staring at me. What was I supposed to say?

"Uh… hi," I said, surprised my voice didn't shake.

"Eh? You a Shinigami, girl?" he asked. "Oh, no," I said quickly. "No, I'm, uh, I'm a human, but I can see and battle hollows and stuff, so… yea. Um, hi." Wait, I already said that. Shoot, Okay, okay, so… um…

What the heck was I supposed to do now?

I glanced down.

"So, Ken … uh, Mr. Ken. Do you want… some root beer?"


	7. Chapter 7

**~Hello! It's me again… (que dramatic voice) Welcome to… CHAPTER SEVEN! *cymbal clash* ~**

**~Also, I still don't own bleach. That is, not until my plans for world domination finally – er, I mean, I don't own bleach. *****innocent cough***

**~Enjoy the chapter! :) ~**

CHAPTER SEVEN-

Containing:

Finding

Explanations

The Arrival of Yourichi

And some Quiet… For Now

… "_Eh? You a Shinigami, girl?" he asked. "Oh, no," I said quickly. "No, I'm, uh, I'm a human, but I can see and battle hollows and stuff, so… yea. Um, hi." Wait, I already said that. Shoot, Okay, okay, so… um…_

_What the heck was I supposed to do now?_

_I glanced down._

"_So, Ken … Mr. Ken. Do you want… some root beer?"_

"…Eh?"

"Um, never mind," I said quickly.

Seriously, what was I supposed to do? I was just glad my parents weren't home. I glanced at Yachiru. She looked like she was about to try and convince this 'Ken' person to have some root beer… that probably wasn't a good idea. I didn't really want him in my house any longer, actually… but what was I going to say? "Hey, Mr. Ken, get out"? That was not a smart choice. Anyway, he and Yachiru - was he her dad or something? Probably not. Ok, so….

Back to square one, then. What the heck was I supposed to do?

Thankfully, it was at that time that Rangiku, Renji, and another Shinigami who I didn't know decided to flash step in.

Rangiku surveyed the situation. "Captain Kenpachi… Yachiru! Um … Sasalia?"

"Hi," I said.

It was silent for a moment.

The blond Shinigami I didn't know switched on some sort of little electronic thingy. "Hitsugaya Taicho, um… we found Yachiru, and Kenpachi, and … we're all at the human girl's house."

I was _'the human girl'_ now? "Sasalia Maki," I said. "Right, Ms. Maki's house," he continued. "Just 'Sasalia' is fine," I mumbled. He didn't introduce himself back. Hmph.

"Right, sir," the Shinigami said to his little electronic thingy. He looked up at Rangiku. "Hitsugaya Taicho says to stay here until he arrives."

"Alright, then," Rangiku said happily. _Whoa, wait… what? _"Anyway, Sasalia," She continued, "you snuck away from the store! That was dangerous…" "Oh yea," I said. Honestly, I had forgotten. "Anyway…"

"What exactly is going on?" Rangiku, Kenpachi, and I said at the same time. I bit my lip.

"OK, all _I_ know is," I started, "I'm about to take a bath, when, looking out my window, I see this little pink-haired girl out in the rain… wearing that Shinigami kimono thing. So I invite her inside and we have some root beer floats. Well, honestly, _she_ ate all of them, but…" Yachiru was giggling now. Again, hmph.

"When Ken-chan and I got into the World of the Living," Yachiru said, "we passed by a candy store that had these GIANT lollipops! So we stopped there, and I got some of the loli-" "Whoa, wait," Renji interrupted. "Since you're not in a gigai, no humans can see you, so how did you pay for the …" he stopped and grimaced. "Yachiru, you just took them, didn't you?" Rangiku scolded. "Well, whatever," Kenpachi said. "What are we all waiting around here for again?"

"Oh, Kenpachi Taicho, were you informed about the human girl?" Rangiku asked. "She's the one who battled the hollows, and was followed by Gin…" her voiced lowered a bit. "Oh, yea. So this is her, huh? Tch." Kenpachi didn't sound very impressed. Well, then. …And did Rangiku just refer to me as 'the human girl'? Seriously!

_These Shinigami…._

Everyone was giving their own account to what had been going on. I tuned them out.

_Are really crazy._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Somewhere in the East Side of Town… ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was a dark and stormy night…

Toshiro's communicator clicked on. ~~_Hitsugaya Taicho, um… we found Yachiru, and Kenpachi, and … we're all at the human girl's house. . . ._ _Right, Ms. Maki's house.~~_

Toshiro and Momo stopped flash stepping through the rain outside. Toshiro turned on his communicator. "At Sasalia's house? What are you… never mind. Just wait there until I arrive." ~~_Right, sir.~~ *_click*

"They're with the human girl?" Momo asked. "Yeah," Toshiro said, "her name is Sasalia, she's the one who's been fighting those hollows … have you been told about that?" After all, she wasn't originally supposed to be part of the backup team. "Oh, I know enough," Momo said. Actually, she had sort of eavesdropped on the people informing the backup team, so she knew most of it.

Toshiro nodded. "Alright, then, let's go."

They flash stepped away, leaving ripples in a puddle.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~At Sal's place… ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was just about to go sit on the couch and relax, but, of course, Toshiro appeared, too. He was followed by a short girl with her hair in a bun, who looked nervous.

"Oh, hey," I said. He completely ignored me. Typical.

"Alright, what's going on?" he asked. After a few minutes of everyone telling their stories, including me, it looked like we were all on the same page, for the most part. At least, now I knew everyone's name and rank, and why they were here. Sort of.

But now that we had gotten all that Shinigami stuff out of the way, I wanted some answers too. Like, for instance, why could I suddenly levitate things? I turned to Toshiro, who looked like he was berating Momo for sneaking into the world of the living. "Hey, Toshiro," I said. "That's Captain Hitsugaya," he corrected. I completely ignored him. Ha.

"So what's with me being able to do _this_?" I picked up the root beer cap from the floor, and pooled my chakra around it. I then sent it spinning in circles around the room, which was a bit harder than just levitating it, but still relatively easy.

_I'm getting a hang on this stuff, _I thought.

"Well –" "We're not sure," Rangiku interrupted. "It seems like you have some sort of flexible spiritual pressure. I've never seen that before, but there are other humans who have odd powers like that. Like Orihime, for instance." Orihime? What a pretty-sounding name. I didn't know any Orihimes, though. I wondered who she was. That explanation didn't really help me, though.

The root beer cap floated back to my hand.

"_Anyway_," Toshiro said, "It looks like we've gotten everything back together, basically. While we're here, we should check the area for traces of Ichimaru's spiritual pressure. And someone should keep watch here anyway, in case any more Arrancars or anything come by."

"What is this _Arrancar_ of which you speak?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. _It looks like some explaining still needed to be done, after all, _I thought. "We'll explain later," Toshiro said. _Okay. Or not._ "Captain Kenpachi, why don't you, Yachiru, and Kira go back to the shop?"

Oh. How cute. Yachiru looked like she was falling asleep…

Wait, how was that even possible? I don't know HOW many sugary root beer floats she ate… well, whatever. It was late, I was tired, I didn't get my bath … it had been a LONG day. At least the rain sounded like it was letting up.

"Look, you guys do whatever the heck you want," I said. "I'm going to BED. Just don't wake me up." I threw the root beer cap into the garbage as I passed. Which reminded me… "And don't BREAK anything! I've already had to explain one broken window to my parents…" I glared at Toshiro.

I marched upstairs, slammed my door, glanced at the clock, groaned, and threw myself onto my bed. Tomorrow my parents would be home… I could only hope the Shinigami would turn it down a notch. I didn't need to explain impossible stuff to my mom and stepdad, on top of everything else…

… God.

What a day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~And At Urahara's Shop…~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Thanks for coming, Yourichi," Urahara said.

"No problem. I haven't been doing anything interesting lately, anyway. I heard about this Sasalia… so what's up?" She was sitting cross-legged on the floor, in her human form. An untouched cup of tea sat before her.

"Urahara-san ... oh hey, Yourichi!" Ichigo entered the room. "Hi, Ichigo. Urahara was just informing me about what's going on." "Well, it looks like there's a girl who has some powers like Orihime and Chad do," he started.

"But the problem, " Urahara interrupted, "is that for some reason, Gin Ichimaru was following her earlier. Captain Hitsugaya ran into him once, apparently." "That's odd," Yourichi commented. "Why would Aizen send Gin when he has so many other Arrancar and hollows… or is Gin coming of his own accord? And what would he want with her? What are her powers like, again?"

"Apparently she has some kind of flexible spiritual pressure that lets her manipulate herself, and objects around her, like telekinesis. She uses it to levitate objects, do stunts that no human could do (like jumping onto the roof of a building), and she can also convert her spiritual pressure into lightning." "Huh," Ichigo muttered. "Maybe you could train her, Yourichi, like you did with Orihime and Chad."

Yourichi never got to reply, as it was then that Kenpachi, Yachiru, and Kira came back.

"All right!" Kenpachi roared. "Now you and I can finally have that rematch!"

"Oh, Captain Kenpachi, so you found Yachiru!" Urahara said. "Um, if you're going to kill Ichigo, do it outside, would you?" _"Urahara!"_ Ichigo yelled, indignant. Urahara took out his fan from his sleeve and unfolded it, covering his mouth.

Ikkaku and Yumichika came in. "Hey, you're back, Captain!" Ikkaku said.

Outside, the rain was finally stopping, although the clouds remained as thick and dark as ever.

"Ah, why don't we settle things in the morning?" Kira suggested. "Let's get dry and go to bed, it's very late."

"Yeah, thanks, bye!" Ichigo yelled as he ran outside, going home. Kenpachi looked a bit disappointed.

"We really should go to bed," Urahara said. "It won't be long before the sun rises, actually. …And who knows what we'll have to do tomorrow?"

Yourichi morphed into her cat form and made her way into one of Urahara's spare rooms. Kenpachi grumbled, but headed (with a dozing-off Yachiru still firmly attached to his shoulder) towards the basement of the shop along with Ikkaku and Yumichika.

Kira looked to Urahara. "The others are still investigating the area around Sasalia's house, but should be back soon…"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~And meanwhile, far far away… ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was pretty quiet in Hueco Mundo.

Although the sky never changed, it was deemed night time, as most arrancars and hollows were resting and the halls of Las Noches were, for the most part, silent.

Gin was out on a deck, looking at the moon, though his eyes were still in their usual squint. He wasn't really tired. A bit bored, though. There was really nothing to do around here.

Tomorrow, though, they'd be going to the world of the living to see Miss Lightning, Sasalia. More importantly to Aizen, to see her strange flexible spiritual pressure. That would be fun.

Gin turned back and went inside. It was night in the human world, too. But soon, dawn would break there, and Gin (along with a few other Arrancar) would be making a trip…

Right now, it was quiet in Huecto mundo.


	8. Chapter 8

**~HELLO AND WELCOME…~**

**~ Disclaimer: I disclaim~**

**~(Disclaimer #2: I disclaim the 'Disclaimer: I disclaim'. That comes from 'UNLUCKY PLUS ONE' by 'sombody cool'. It's a neat story. About Bleach, of course.)~**

**~And reviews are always welcomed :)~**

CHAPTER EIGHT:

Containing:

Post-creepies

Testing Out the New Skill Again

Renji?

Gin

And, of Course, Grimmjow

…And Sasalia's Rant, Part One

_I marched upstairs, slammed my door, glanced at the clock, groaned, and threw myself onto my bed. Tomorrow my parents would be home… I could only hope the Shinigami would turn it down a notch. I didn't need to explain impossible stuff to my mom and stepdad, on top of everything else…_

… _God._

_What a day._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~In The Morning…~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I forgot to close my blinds last night, so I woke up at an ungodly hour (around 9:30) with the sun shining bright in my room. I really hadn't planned to wake up until mid-afternoon, when my parents would be back. But I couldn't fall back asleep – I had this vague sense of unease, and I wasn't sure where it was coming from. Probably just post-creepies from all the supernatural Shinigami stuff.

Still, though, I felt like I was being watched.

It dawned on me that that could actually be true – hadn't the Shinigami said that they were going to '_keep watch here' _ in case any… any… whatever the things were, came around? Or this Gin person. Mr. Fox-face.

More post-creepies.

I walked downstairs into the kitchen, but I didn't really feel like eating anything yet. Outside, all the evidence of last night's downpour was gone, except for the slight misty-ness that prevented you from seeing too clearly in the distance. It looked like it might still be a bit cool out, but I was very bored, and did I mention the post-creepies? So I opened the sliding glass door and stepped outside.

It was actually pretty warm. That's summer for you, I suppose.

I walked out to the edge of our mini-forest. In my backyard, we have a tiny, spaced-out, lightly-wooded area. The trees weren't too good for climbing, but there wasn't much underbrush, and there were tons of wild blackberries and a fire pit. There was also a ditch lined with stones that ran through the edge of the mini-forest, and it usually had a small stream running through it. It was pretty full from the rain we had…

I turned around and looked back at our house.

Was there…

What was that on the roof?

Our house was two stories, with a basement and an attic. It wasn't too high, and I could see the roof pretty well.

Beside the chimney – we had an old fashioned chimney – there looked like there was something, a black bundle or whatever. I licked my lips…

Hows about testing out my new powers again?

I ran back down and hopped onto the railing of our deck. I was high, but not too high. I faced the house.

Pool your chakra, pool your chakra… and concentrate…

And step.

And step…

And

I WAS STANDING ON AIR!

I was just standing! Using my chakra to form and invisible barrier!

And standing! And there was nothing below me! This was so cool! And absolutely crazy! Just-

***BONK*** "YAH-ta-ta-ta-taaaa!"

I fell (…on my butt, naturally) back to the deck.

Note to self: maintain concentration. Alright. This time I would be calm… ow, falling like that really hurt… and I had unconsciously released my lightning chakra, which left a small black mark on the deck. (At least it wasn't on fire from that, or something.) _Get up, Sal. Let's go. I can do this._ Right. Owch.

I pressed my lips together, but not in concentration. The feeling of creepies was back, and stronger than ever. I cast a quick look around me, but there was no one….

Let's just get to the roof, then, shall we? I'd have a better view from there, anyway…

I cast another look around, this time to make sure no humans …I mean, not-Shinigami… why was I thinking 'humans' like I wasn't one? Ok, sure, I had weird powers, but…

…to make sure no normal people that might see me were around. OK. Safe. Then…

This time, I was (relatively) calm when I stepped. I made it to the roof. I stood for a moment, swaying and trying to keep my balance. The I faced the chimney.

What the heck?

It looked like one of those Shinigami. They were slumped against the chimney ni a sort of weird pose… sleeping on the job?

No… wait.

Oh. Oh, no. No…

It was the one with the weird tattoos and the red ponytail. Renji? A lieutenant… I think. It didn't matter.

To the left, his sword, unsheathed, was caught in the gutter. It looked like it had slid down from his hand.

I immediately readied my chakra and took up a fighting pose.

He wasn't sleeping, he was unconscious… Please be just unconscious…

Please be just unconscious!

It didn't look like there was enough blood for him to be dead.

There was that creepy feeling again, but this time it made me feel sick… I let my chakra loose.

"That's some interestin' spiritual pressure ya got there ... Miss Lightning-chan."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~At a park not far away… ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The large Zanpakutou sliced cleanly through the hollow's mask.

"That was easy," Ichigo said. "I can't believe you woke me up just for this… Eh? Rukia? Hello? …what's wrong?"

Rukia was staring off into the distance, her hand on her Zanpakutou, a confused and worried expression on her face. "Hello? _Rukia!_"

"Ichigo, do you feel that spiritual pressure?" "Wha…? Not really… wait."

That was…

"Yo! Ichigo! Well, it's not like me to be all dramatic with _reunions_…"

The pair spun around quickly. Above, there was a figure standing in the air, most of his features blocked out by the morning sun. His spiritual pressure was that of a powerful Arrancar.

"So instead, I'll just _fight!_"

"Ichigo!" Rukia yelled. "I know," was, of course, the reply. "…BANKAI!"

"Eh, good, your taking me seriously," the Arrancar said. He was now, suddenly, on the ground with Ichigo and Rukia.

"Rukia, go to Urahara's…" Ichigo started. A fist came down at him, which he dodged. Swiping with his sword, he maneuvered away from Rukia. "And tell him the Arrancar are-"

"Alright, let's get this party started! This time, no other meddlesome espada will interrupt us."

Ichigo frowned and held his sword.

Grimmjow grinned that grin. You know the one.

The menacing, cocky, slightly scary one…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~On a Roof not Far Away… ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"…Fox-face!" I hissed.

"Eh? Me? The name's Gin, Ichimaru Gin. Pleased to meet ya."

No reply.

That was a very creepy smile…

"… So, Miss Lightning-chan, when someone introduces themselves, can't ya introduce yerself back?"

More silence…

"My name, as you probably know –" _stalker –"_is Sasalia Maki… now what the hell do you want?"

"Me? Not much… well…" God, that was a creepy smile… "I think yer pretty interesting, that's all. Do ya know ya have some weird spiritual pressure?" I raised my eyebrows. _Well, seeing as I'm on the roof and whatnot, I think I've noticed it_, I thought. "Look, Mr. Fox – _Gin. _I don't really want anything to do with Shinigami OR Arrancar, or whatever you are…"

"Eh? But you don't even know me." Smile, smile.

"I don't have to know you! You guys … you just bring me trouble. I'm perfectly fine the way I am. You people – just _leave me alone!"_ Where did that come from? This guy was bringing out the worst in me.

But it was true, I didn't ask for any of this. I mean, I was glad I could help spirits, and get rid of those monsters… hollows. But really! I…

There was a slight noise behind me. Renji! I forgot all about him.

My first reaction was panic- he was hurt! Gin probably did that! And this was exactly my point, being a Shinigami, or being around them, wasn't it dangerous? This was proof. I didn't want this! My second reaction was relief – he wasn't dead. Ok, then. Ok. I could deal with that afterwards…

Then, unexpectedly. My second reaction was anger.

Not anger at Gin or Renji or the Shinigami, but anger at myself.

WAIT.

What the hell was I doing?

_I didn't ask for any of this… I didn't want this … leave me alone…?_

This was pathetic! I re-took my fighting stance. I had these powers, I was a part of this world, and I would just have to deal with it.

And right now, dealing with it meant dealing with his man…

Gin smiled. He opened his mouth, but he never got any words out -

"_Sit upon the frozen heavens, Hyournimaru!_" A pillar of ice blasted through. That voice was familiar – ah, yes. Toshiro. Why was I not surprised? He (in his Shinigami kimono), Rangiku, and the Guy-with-the-Green-bucket-Hat landed in front of be on the roof. Green-Bucket-Hat turned to me. "You'd better get out of here," he warned.

What was with all these people treating me as if I was a kid?

My thoughts were interrupted by Toshiro being thrown backwards, landing next to Renji. He got back up in a second, though, and charged at Gin, who was parrying Rangiku's blade easily. He was still smiling, of course. I looked at Green-Bucket-Hat… he had drawn his sword, too.

I looked down at the roof. These guys were going to destroy my house. So…

I just had to get us away from my house, then.

Before I could think of a plan, though, Gin appeared next to me. He was holding a sword, too, though it looked more like a dagger to me – it was so short. Toshiro tried to get him from above, but Gin was quite fast. I needed to do something. I could seriously die! Or someone else would get hurt… Renji was trying to get up now. What was I supposed to do? It was just like when Kenpachi came, I was panicking… what COULD I do?

"Miss Lightning-chan's panicking," Gin teased. Jerk. He was next to me again. He was fast! Okay. My chakra was already out, so…

"What do you want here, Gin?" Green-bucket-Hat said. "Urahara, look out!" Renji shouted. Gin flash stepped behind Green-Bucket-Hat… Urahara.

"Shoot to kill, Shinso," Gin said. His short sword suddenly extended, but Urahara was already out of the way. "My, my…" Gin said, as he dodged a blow from Rangiku. He pushed her out of the way.

This guy … was starting to get on my nerves…

Another wave of ice targeted Gin, who flash stepped out of the way, also dodging Urahara's sword.

"Mastumoto, take Renji back to the shop!" Toshiro commanded. "But –! … Hai, Taicho." Rangiku said. Renji looked like he was about to complain, but Rangiku grabbed him and disappeared.

Gin appeared next to me again, smiling that creepy smile. He pointed his sword at Toshiro. I gritted my teeth. _Shinigami! _I thought, as if it were a swear word. Gin, Urahara, and Toshiro were completely ignoring me now…

Gin's sword missed Toshiro, but hit the roof. Some wood chipped away.

This guy…!

"That's IT!"

I grabbed Gin's arm. He looked at me, slightly surprised.

"_YOU GUYS ARE DESTROYING EVERYTHING YOU COME ACROSS_!" I shouted.

Still holding Gin's arm, I jumped from the roof. My chakra was surrounding me, pulsating angrily, so I didn't even have to think about it. I used the same thing that Toshiro, Rangiku and the others had – flash step. I only stopped when we were at the park, far away from my house. A part of my mind noticed the landscape was rather destroyed, as if there had been another battle here. But the foremost part of my mind was just mad.

And now the anger WAS for Gin, the Shinigami, and Arrancar.

Urahara and Toshiro appeared behind me, beside a tree that had been destroyed by whoever had been battling here before. I shoved Gin away.

"Listen, you," I hissed. I was talking to all of them, really.

"Go the hell away!"


	9. Chapter 9

**~Yo!~**

**~So, Bleach is still not mine.~**

**~AND AND AND… HistuHina at the end, in this one!~**

CHAPTER NINE-

Containing:

Sasalia's Rant, Part Two

Disappointment

Chocolate

The Sleeve

And a bit More Chocolate

_Urahara and Toshiro appeared behind me, beside a tree that had been destroyed by whoever had been battling here before. I shoved Gin away._

"_Listen, you," I hissed. I was talking to all of them, really._

"_Go the hell away!"_

"I am not a Shinigami. I am not an Arrancar. I do not _want_ to be a Shinigami. I _do not want_ to be an Arrancar! I am helping souls and fighting these hollows, and YES I can see you people, which is, apparently, odd." I was really rambling now. "…but that doesn't mean I'm gonna be involved in all your… in all your… _stupid wars_ or whatever!

All three people were staring at me.

"YOU," I said, pointing my finger at Gin, "stop following me! This is your fault. I wouldn't have to deal with THEM," fingering Urahara and Toshiro, "and everything they break and mess up and _complicate_ if it wasn't for YOU. _Go away!"_

I took a deep breath. "You said I had _interesting '_spiritual pressure'. If you don't go away… you'll find out just how _interesting_ I can be."

Silence.

A breeze blew through the park. The morning mist was starting to lift. _This early in the day, and already… _The breeze was chilly…

My sleeve had gotten ripped somehow.

How had that happened? I don't remember my sleeve tearing. Gaahh…

Urahara gave a small cough, breaking the quiet.

"Eh-hem. For the record, I haven't actually broken anything of yours…" I shot a death glance at him. Even IF he didn't break anything, he was still one of the people who were making things hard. It was HIS weird candy shop the others had dragged me and Anna to…

"My, my," Gin said. "Well then. I think I've got everythin' I want ta know, actually. I'll be seeing you… sometime."

One last smile, and he was gone. Even Toshiro didn't have time to react, and I couldn't detect his flash step that time. Silence was left behind.

Really? He was gone? It seemed a bit suspicious that he would leave so suddenly. And what did he mean, _everything I want to know_?

More silence.

Not even a breeze this time.

Okay. Things were a bit awkward now. Perhaps the 'everything they break and mess up and complicate' was a bit harsh. I cleared my throat.

"Well... bye." I said suddenly.

I used the flash step thing to return home. It wasn't until I reached my kitchen that I realized I was dead tired – I used my chakra, my flexible spiritual pressure, too much. Hopefully those two had to report or do dome kind of work, so I could get some peace before they came back. I was pretty sure they would return.

That's it. I was taking a bath, and then I was calling Anna. I needed some girl time…

Actually, I just needed 'normal time'.

But first. Bath.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~In Hueco Mundo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Do you know how to spell 'disappointed'?

G-R-I-M-M-J-O-W.

Or perhaps 'pissed off' was a better word. Or 'going to kill someone'.

You see, he STILL didn't get to finish his fight. His fight with Ichigo, which he had been dying to do. _Damn that Gin. Damn him to the deepest pits of hell. He SAID I would be able to fight!_ Stupid, sneaking fox. Interfering. Making him look bad. Once again, he was just about to start really enjoying himself, but…

That's it. He was going to find Gin himself, and give him a piece of his mind.

And of course he'd be going to the World of the Living again, at the next opportunity.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~At Sal's kitchen…~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I got my bath, but I never got to call Anna.

Once again, I was standing at the stove, putting on some water. Once again, _he_ appeared in my house. For heaven's sake… This was never going to end, was it?

"You know … it's illegal to break into someone's house." I said, slightly sarcastically.

"Where have I heard that before?" Toshiro said. "But I didn't come here to chat." "I suppose not…" I muttered. "I know you 'don't want anything to do with us'," he continued, "but the fact remains that you have strong spiritual pressure, odd abilities, and most importantly, Gin Ichimaru is planning something to do with you. Nothing good can come of that, believe me. So for now you'll have to put up with us."

I moved to the pantry. Spying a basket of truffles, I pulled them out. I never got breakfast, and it would take awhile for the water to boil so I could cook my Ramen Noodles. I think I deserved a bit of chocolate, anyway. And it's not like I did this every day, so…

Unwrapping a milk-chocolate-and almond-truffle from its blue foil case, I looked at Toshiro. He was waiting for an answer.

"Alright, fine, but my parents will be coming home this afternoon, and my mom is a stay-at-home mother, so she's here all day," I warned. I popped the truffle into my mouth. Looking at Toshiro again, I noticed he wasn't in one of those fake bodies or whatever, like he had been on the day he first came into my house. So my parents probably wouldn't be able to see a Shinigami if they didn't have one of those…

I stared at the white sleeveless coat over his kimono. Apparently it meant he was a captain… There was still a lot I didn't know about the 'soul society'.

And I was starting to feel a bit guilty for sort-of-yelling at him and Urahara this morning. I threw a dark chocolate truffle wrapped in metallic purple foil at him. He caught it.

"There," I said.

"…What's this?"

"An apology. For sort-of-yelling at you earlier. I suppose."

He sighed. "Fine. I'm going back to Urahara's shop; if you ever need anything, feel free to come over." …That wasn't going to happen. He continued, "So what happened doesn't happen again, there will always be a couple of Shinigami watching the house –"

"Oh yea – is he okay, um, Renji or whoever it was that got hurt?" I asked. "Yea, he'll be fine," Toshiro said. "I'm leaving, but I'll be back later." "Right, right," I muttered. "Bye, Toshiro."

"That's Captain Hitsugaya. Goodbye." He flash stepped away, luckily NOT though my window this time. Geeze, he acted like such an adult, though. I suppose that comes from being a captain.

I would have my noodles, and then when Toshiro came back, I would make him tell me everything about soul society and what was going on. I ate another truffle.

Maybe I would get to make plans with Anna first.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Grimmjow was Having no Luck~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gin Ichimaru couldn't be found anywhere that the sixth Espada was looking.

But, that was because he was looking in the wrong places. He hadn't searched in Sayzel's Lab, which was where Gin COULD be found. He was having the eighth Espada analyze something for him. The bit of sleeve that he had torn from Sasalia's shirt before leaving, to be precise.

So, soon, they would know just how her spiritual pressure worked. And if she could be useful to Aizen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~At Urahara's Shop ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The store was pretty quiet.

Kenpachi (and Yachiru) were out searching for Ichigo; Ichigo was hiding from Kenpachi; Rukia was with Ichigo (who jumped at small noises) and Renji (who was training, even though he wasn't _entirely _back to normal yet); the backup team of Shinigami were either doing chores for Urahara, training, relaxing in the basement, or watching Sasalia's house (along with Yumichika, who had been assigned that duty for now); Ikkaku, Rangiku and Kira were … somewhere around here… hopefully not getting drunk; Momo was in the basement; and Toshiro had just gotten back.

"Yo!" Urahara said, pulling his fan out again.

"Where's Hinamori?" Toshiro asked.

"In the basement, I believe…"

Toshiro walked past several Shinigami sword fighting and practicing kido, and Rukia, Renji, and Ichigo (who jumped behind a rock momentarily before determining it was not Kenpachi) before he found Momo, who was working on a trick that involved combining multiple kido. She lost her concentration when he came up.

"Oh, hello, Hitsugaya-kun," She said. "Hi – that's Histsygaya-TAICHO," he corrected. "Sorry," she said, smiling slightly.

"Anyway… here," he said, handing her the dark-purple-foil wrapped truffle. "Oh… thank you," she said, surprised. "Um, what's this for?"

"An apology," he said. "For getting angry about you coming here from the soul society. You still weren't supposed to, but…" Momo blushed. "Thank you, then," she said.

From behind a rock, a slightly drunk Rangiku watched the whole scene. She giggled a bit. He gave her chocolate! This was going to be interesting…


	10. Chapter 10

**~Hey everybody! Kiwi's back with a new chapter of 'Crazy People, There Shinigami'! Sorry I didn't update as fast this time… School's right around the corner and I'm behind on my summer work for my advanced placement classes. Bleh. But I made this one longer to make up for it!~**

**~Anyway, there's some more ToshiroxMomo again… :) ~**

**~Now… Give me an N! Gimme an O! Gimme another N! And Gimme an E! What does that spell? 'NONE', which is the part of Bleach that I own. I don't own bleach. Oh, if only.**

**~ Remember to review if you wanna! I love reviews...~**

CHAPTER TEN-

Containing:

Shopping

An Unexpected Encounter

Yourichi's Decision

Splitting up

Training

Sasalia's Powers

"It's gorgeous," Anna said.

The necklace WAS really beautiful. There was a fine double-chain of tiny silver links, brought together at the end by a small but heavy silver pendant. The pendant was shaped like a fox looking to the side, with lots of layers in the fur which made it look almost three-dimensional. Like it could come to life any moment.

I lifted it up off the counter it was displayed on, next to many different necklaces that were also for sale at the mall's jeweler. It was very pretty. There was just one problem, though.

The fox's eyes were studded by two bright red rubies.

It was a bit unnerving. The day after finally meeting, talking to, and sort of fighting that Shinigami… Gin. The pendant sort of reminded me of him. And I did not want to have that sort of reminder hanging around my neck all day.

I put the necklace back. "Too expensive," I lied. For silver, it was pretty cheap, actually. But I hadn't told Anna anything about what had been happening recently. All she knew was that I was a bit more jumpy than usual. I didn't want to get her involved with this; unlike me, although Anna could see spirits, she couldn't fight and defend herself against hollows. Or crazy Arrancar or rouge Shinigami… I still had yet to make one of those people give me the whole story. Toshiro or Urahara or someone, I'd have to ask them eventually.

The point was, Anna didn't know what was going on with Mr. Fox-face and all the other weird people around here. So for now…

"Aw, come on, Sal. You're here to relax. It isn't every day you let me 'drag you to the mall', as you say, after all. Let's just shop a little. Do normal stuff. Get your mind off all the supernatural things going on."

I glanced at Anna. So she figured out I was thinking about the Shinigami and whatnot … she's always been very perceptive. It was one of her sometimes-nice, sometimes-unnerving traits.

Anna grabbed my arm. "It's girl time," she said. "I know you hate all that 'massage and manicure' stuff, so how's about we do some clothes shopping? School's going to start soon, you know. You need some better outfits."

Even though Anna was homeschooled most of her life, she developed what some people would call a fashion sense. She was able to fit right in at the public schools. Unlike me, she cared about looking good – well, I did too; I mean, I didn't want to look BAD. It's just that my idea of looking good was a pair of clean sneakers, boot leg jeans, and a simple T-shirt. Anna was into more complicated outfits; skirts, decorative belts, spaghetti strap shirts with breezy overshirts and all that stuff. The thing was, I usually ended up fighting monsters… those hollows, and I needed to be able to MOVE, and not come home with my outfit all torn and dirtied. Mom would freak…

I groaned as Anna pulled me towards the more expensive stores. Couldn't we just go to the GAP or Old Navy? I hated the giant labels on the clothes … and the shops themselves had really loud music and were stuffed with heavy perfume. I read the store names she was headed to: Hollister, Areopostle, Abercrombie … I don't think I ever mentioned this, but Anna's family is a bit rich.

I glanced across the mall. We were on the second floor. Loud music from one of the stores was pounding in my ears, and I could already smell the mix of leather and perfume. I crinkled my nose.

I frowned.

What was that? Or should I say, who?

Looking closer across the mall, I thought I saw one of those Shinigami people. It was the one with orange hair and big breasts – Rangiku. Were they still following me? Probably. It had been a few days since what I was calling 'The Gin Incident', but they HAD said they would be keeping tabs on me, right? That was a bit annoying, actually. I had a life outside of all this Shinigami stuff.

"Hello? Earth to Sasalia?"

…A life which Anna seemed to be trying to forcibly drag me into.

She pulled me to a shop with a giant window that displayed those wooden dummies modeling clothes. "C'mon! Wouldn't you like an outfit like this?" She gestured to a dummy with a mini skirt, plain undershirt, and purple plaid jacket with the sleeves rolled up. "That looks more like something YOU would wear," I said, keeping half my mind on the Shinigami behind us.

"Then how about that? Oh, you'd look so cool in it, don't you think?" This time is was a white-and-dark-blue shirt with long sleeves and a decorative scarf. Not really my style.

"Sasalia! Hello? …Um, what are you staring at?"

Rangiku the Shinigami seemed to not be paying attention to us, immersed in a shop that sold fashionable trinkets and the like. Now was our chance to get away.

Not that I really saw any harm in being followed by the Shinigami, it was just that ... well, I preferred to not be watched all the time. I grabbed Anna's elbow and moved towards the elevator, not too far away. Distraction time. Luckily, I knew what to do. "You know what this mall has?," I said. "A really good Dairy store. They have soft-served chocolate ice cream … and this vanilla frozen yogurt with fresh strawberries…"

Anna was going to protest about me trying to get out of shopping, but I knew her weakness: strawberries. I've seen her eat a three-course meal composed almost entirely with strawberry-type foods. Did you know they make strawberry _soup?_

"Well, I guess we can always come back later," Anna agreed hurriedly. Awesome.

_Later, Shinigami._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~At Urahara's Shop~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Are you sure, Yourichi?"

Yourichi put down her cup of tea. "If this girl allows me to train her, then I will," she said. "I think she might, once she understands the situation."

Urahara nodded.

"Besides," Yourichi said, "I think I'm probably the best person for the job right now. First of all, I trained Orihime and Chad, so I have experience with humans that have powers. Also, not only am I helping her master her powers, but I'm gathering information on her, too. You could probably do _that _yourself, but there are two other reasons: some of her powers, at least the way _she_ sees them, are somewhat similar to mine; and also, I'm a girl."

She sipped at her tea.

"Well, I suppose that makes sense," Urahara said. "Your shunko _does _seem a bit similar to her 'lightning' attacks, and you both use speed and accuracy rather than brute force."

"Yes, and it shouldn't be as hard for her to train with me, since I'm a girl," Yourichi clarified. "I see," Urahara said.

Yourichi stood. "Anyway, I suppose I should go see her, then." "Why don't we bring her here? You can go directly to the basement to train. Besides, she's at the mall right now – Rangiku was sent to follow her. Actually, I think Toshiro and Ikkaku went to check on her a minute ago, why don't I give them a call?" "Alright, if you think that's best."

Urahara looked around. "I think Momo might have gone after them, too," he said. "At least, she's not around here."

"Let's hope she doesn't get herself into any trouble," Yourichi mumbled.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~But Rather Than Momo…~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was Rangiku that was getting in trouble. But not the hollow or Arrancar kind; the Captain kind.

"What do you mean, you LOST her?" Toshiro yelled.

"Well, you see, I was distracted by this really cute – oh, calm down, Taicho! I'd know if she were in trouble or anything. It's not like a hollow or an Arrancar is just going to show up in the middle of a crowded mall like this –" "But that is EXACTLY what happened the last time, at the bakery!" Toshiro said. Rangiku frowned. "Ah, that's right…"

They both felt a familiar spiritual pressure around the corner.

"Hi guys! Sorry I'm late! Um, what's going on?" Momo said as she hopped into view, maneuvering as to not to crash her gigai into anyone. "Rangiku lost the girl she was following," Ikkaku said. He had been leaning against the glass barrier that prevented anyone from falling to the floor below. "Oh…" Momo said nervously.

"We'll just have to find her, then," Toshiro said. Hopefully this time, there would be no rain to muddle their senses. "Hinamori and I will go that way. Ikkaku, you go with Rangiku to the other side of the mall. Report if you find her, or anything odd. Let's go."

Rangiku grinned. He was paring up with Momo; was that intentional, or subconscious? This was the second time he had paired himself with Momo for a mission like this. Hoo hoo…

She winked at Momo before speeding off in to direction her Captain had said, leaving Ikkaku behind. "Hey, wait up!" He yelled testily.

Momo blinked. "Hinamori? Let's go," Toshiro called. "Oh, right!" She said, widening her senses to try and catch a trace of Sasalia's spiritual pressure. This time, she would be sure to help. Even if she wasn't supposed to be here… She would show them that she was a good Shinigami, too. She wasn't a lieutenant for nothing…

But why had Rangiku winked like that? For some reason, it made her want to blush.

Just then, Toshiro's cell phone rang. It was Urahara. After listening for a minute, he said, "Right. Rangiku lost her …" he muttered something incomprehensible; "…and we're searching the mall. We just started. … No, don't worry, we're perfectly capable … right. We'll do that." The phone snapped shut, and he turned to Momo.

"Yourichi wants to see if she can train Sasalia. So let's hurry up and find her."

"Right," Momo said, determined.

They walked off quickly, towards the middle of the mall. They were in gigais, so no flash step; besides, they were in the middle of a crowded mall. They both concentrated on searching through spiritual pressure.

It was only a minute or so before Momo caught a trace of Sasalia's spiritual pressure. _Yes! _She thought.

"Hey, Toshiro! I think she's I sense her!" "Great – and that's Captain Hitsugaya." "Right," Momo said, smiling slightly.

They were on the first floor now, in the plaza part of the area. There was a big fountain in the middle of the space. Momo turned, trying not to bump into the many people all around them. The trace was faint, but it was defiantly hers. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the spiritual pressure.

She was close!

"This way," she cried, spinning again, ready to run in the direction of Sasalia.

Except she crashed into Toshiro.

She would have fallen, but he grabbed her. Darn – she didn't know he was so close! "U-um, sorry," She stuttered.

She was blushing – worrying about looking bad in front of her friend, when she had wanted to prove herself? Maybe, but that didn't seem to be it.

He was still holding her …

He seemed to realize that at the same time she did, and let go quickly – causing her to almost fall over again.

"Right, well, um, this way," Momo said quickly. "Right, I sense it now," Toshiro replied, just as fast.

They ran in the direction of Sasalia.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~At the Dairy Place in the Mall…~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wow.

I sat on a stool at the counter, my chocolate ice cream long finished, cone and all. I was watching Anna.

That was her third strawberry frozen yogurt. She was starting to remind me of Yachiru-chan …

All of a sudden, two people ran up.

No, not just people. Shinigami.

It was Toshiro. Toshiro and someone else; let's see, she was one of the higher ranking Shinigami. Momo, that was her name; Momo Hinamori.

Anna looked over her shoulder, spoon-in-mouth. She glanced back at me.

"Some people I know," I muttered to her.

"Sasalia, Yourichi wants to talk to you," Toshiro said. Anna was now glaring at me. "_What?_" I whispered at her. "_Introduce me, of course!_" she whispered back. I groaned.

Speaking out loud, I said, "Toshiro, Momo, this is my best friend Anna. Anna, meet Toshiro and Momo." And I'd better clear up some other stuff, too.

"Toshiro is a Captain of some organization that battles those monsters and helps those spirits we always see. Momo's a lieutenant, I think." Anna looked fairly shocked. So did Toshiro; in fact, he looked a bit angry. Momo just smiled and nodded.

"Oh, I see… um." Anna said. I could see that she _didn't _really see, and knowing her – "Well, actually, I have no idea what you're talking about. But it's nice to meet you, I guess. I thought only Sal and I could see those spitits." Nervous laugh. She eyed Toshiro and Momo closer.

"So, are you guys a couple or something?" She said. Oh, typical. Anna…

"Wh-what?" Momo yelped, alarmed.

"Ah, NO." Toshiro said, after a second of stunned hesitation.

"Oh, it just looked like –" I interrupted what Anna started to say. "Hey, Anna. According to Toshiro here, I have to go meet someone, so why don't I – " "Right, right. I'll go." Anna said. She smiled at the two Shinigami before hopping off her stool and shimmying through the crowd.

I looked back at them. They were both blushing, Momo more so. _Were _they a couple? I shrugged. None of my business. I didn't have a boyfriend, and wasn't looking for one (my life is complicated enough already...) so I wasn't really in sync with that sort of thing.

"So, who's this Yourichi person?" I said.

"Oh, right. We'll explain…" Toshiro said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~At Urahara's Shop Again~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hi, Sasalia. Nice to meet you!"

They had taken me back to that run-down candy shop place. It was actually sort of cozy, now that I thought about it.

But who would ever imagine that there was this giant cave-space-thing below it?

I was still looking around at the desert-canyon like area. Urahara, the shopkeeper with the green striped bucket hat, seemed pretty proud of it. The woman named Yourichi was looking at me. "Nice to meet you, too," I said.

"So Toshiro, where are Rangiku and Ikkaku?" Urahara said. I didn't pay him any attention.

"Oh, shoot!" Toshiro said. Momo looked panicked. "We left them at the mall!" she cried. They both used their flash step to speed off. "Huh, not like Toshiro to miss details like that," Urahara mumbled. "Well, I'll be off now. You two ladies have fun!" he said in a singsong voice.

As soon as he was gone, Yourichi turned back to me.

"Alright, Sasalia. I'm here to help train you to master your powers, and to help you learn more about your powers. Shall we start?" I felt odd, being at this giant cave under a questionable-looking candy shop, with this person I didn't know at all. But, I did want to get stronger. It dawned on me that I didn't really know anything about my powers. So I agreed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ That Night … ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was quiet at Urahara's Shop again. Kenpachi still hadn't been able to track down and battle Ichigo, but it didn't look like he was giving up any time soon. However, this time Yachiru had stayed at the shop, and created much mischief and mayhem. Everyone was quite tired, including Yourichi, who had spent the afternoon training with Sasalia. At one point, Yachiru had interrupted their training and demanded to play with 'Purple-Eyes'.

It had been a long day.

"So what do you think about her powers?" Urahara asked. Toshiro, Rangiku, Renji, Rukia (who was sitting in for Ichigo, who was battling a hollow –AKA hiding from Kenpachi-) Ikkaku, Yumichika, Momo and Yourichi were all sitting around the table with him. Yourichi sighed.

"Well –"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~In Las Noches~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Her powers are very interesting," Sayzel Granz, the eighth espada, said.

"Ne? Is 'at so?" Gin said.

"You see, she does indeed have flexible spiritual pressure, or _chakra_. She could do virtually anything with this chakra; there are almost infinite possibilities. She can convert it into lightning, use it to levitate objects, all those things she has been doing. Truly, it's a formidable weapon."

Granz lifted up the scrap of cloth he had been studying.

"However…"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~At Urahara's Shop~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"…However?" Urahara asked.

Yourichi frowned.

"Her attacks themselves are lacking in strength. Lightning seems to come easiest for her, but it's still only on par with, say, a higher-level kido."

"Is that so," Urahara mumbled. Yourichi nodded. "So, although she can widely vary her attacks, they don't have too much force. Also, she seems to let her emotions get in the way, and not strategizing properly. She does things without thinking. It reminds me a bit of Ichigo."

"But if her attacks are lacking force, strategizing and combining her attacks to make them stronger would be best for her," Toshiro said. "That's true," Urahara replied. "We just need to know a bit more about her powers to help her do this. Maybe we should have the 12th division analyze hr spiritual pressure."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Back in Las Noches~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Very interestin' …" Gin said.

"Yes, I think so to," Granz replied.

"Ya've been a big help," Gin said, turning to leave.

"I think Aizen's gonna be interested 'n her, after all."


	11. Chapter 11

**~Oh my gosh! It's been a MONTH since I've updated! Sorry, sorry!~ **

_**Kiwi: ~*Pulls out Kai from my other story, 'Gin's Games', and hides behind her*~**_

_**Kai: What the heck? Let go of me, Kiwi!**_

_**Me: NO, I need you to protect me. You're the seventh espada, so you should be powerful enough –**_

_**Kai: firstly, I'm a figment of your imagination. I can't really help.**_

_**Me: *gulp***_

_**Kai: secondly, I don't think any of your readers actually know where you live.**_

_**Me: *whewf***_

_**Kai: and THIRD, I have my own problems! I need to think of how to get back at Gin for pulling that trick on me! Luckily I have Grimmjow helping me, and Starrk and Lilynette… well, all Starrk ever does is lay around, but – oh nevermind! *storms away***_

**~Well, uh, anyway, here's the chapter! It's sort of a filler in which Sal expands her powers and learns her weakness, but SOON I shall be putting her (and Anna) into Ichigo's High School, and remember that all the gang is with them, Toshiro and Renji and all that. So I should be pretty fun…~**

**~PLUS I have an even MORE sinister development in mind… *rubs hands together while chuckling evily*~**

**~Anyway, enjoy! And remember – me owning bleach is something that, sadly, doesn't exist. Well, sadly for me, that is. ~**

CHAPTER ELEVEN-

Containing:

Training, Again

History

Kenpachi and Ichigo and Yachiru, Oh My

Sal's Weakness

School

Interesting

"OWCH!"

Yourichi managed to get through my defenses and push me into a nearby rock. Once again, we were training at the enormous basement under Urahara's shop. Right now, we were working on my hand-to-hand combat skills; although Yourichi was much stronger than me, I was fast and small, and managed to dodge (most of) her attacks.

Yourichi said I needed to work on my stamina and perfecting the various attacks I could make with my flexible spiritual pressure. We also tried doing a wide variety of different attacks, to see just how much I could do with my chakra. As for elemental attacks:

. Lightning – pretty much came naturally. I hit fast and hard. Awesome.

. Fire – I sucked. I managed to make a small flame flicker feebly in my palm for about eight seconds … that was it, though. I kept getting sparks of lightning instead.

. Water – I couldn't actually _create_ any, but by molding my chakra, I could control it pretty well – I could levitate it and make waves and things, even creating a sizable whirlpool and a pillar of water that looked like a dragon that I sent zooming around the cave-like area. I also extracted the water from a flower, and used it to shoot through a large rock.

. Ice – nope. Just nope. The most I could do was chill the water slightly. Yourichi said if I practiced, I could probably get the hang of it… maybe.

. Earth – I could move stones and rocks without touching them, crack and reduce boulders to rubble, and when I punched the earth and released some chakra it created a small crater. However, there still wasn't too much damage, and the brute force was minimal. Earth wasn't really my thing, it seems.

. Wind – Pretty okay, I guess. I tried to make the wind slice things, but it didn't work so well. I could make a sort-of strong blast of air that pushed my opponents back as long as they weren't too heavy, but nothing else, really. There wasn't much for my chakra to hold on to.

So my best fields were water and lightning. Yourichi suggested I try and use the two at once. It had actually worked pretty well; I didn't think I'd be much of a multi-tasker.

"You keep letting your guard down on your right side," Yourichi commented. Back in the present now, I nodded. I expanded my awareness to my right side more. I shifted my pose slightly. "That's better," Yourichi commented. She then attempted to kick my legs out from under me.

I jumped and spun, trying to kick her while she was off-balance. However, she twisted behind me and grabbed my left arm with her right hand. I quickly spun and slammed my right palm into her left shoulder; Yourichi was pushed back slightly, and I was at a good angle to nail her elbow. However, before my hand could hit, she maneuvered yet again, appearing at my other side. I leaned backwards to avoid the kick to my chest. She spun completely around due to the force of her attempted snap-kick; while her back was turned, I landed a kick between her shoulders. She fell forwards, but before I could go to attack again, she twisted and used her hands to propel herself off the ground, doing a handstand in which her feet, once again, connected with my chest.

I was pushed backwards and up into the air. I gathered my chakra around me, and managed to land on my feet in a fighting stance. I was breathing pretty heavily.

"Your right side, Sasalia," Yourichi chided. I had left it open again. Geeze. This stuff was tougher than it looked.

"And when you kick, remember; don't just extend your whole leg and move it though the air. Twist your hip first, then bend your knee, and at the last second – extend. Hya!" She demonstrated her side-kick in semi-slow motion. I nodded.

"How's about a break, ladies~?" Urahara said in a sing-song voice, coming down the 'basement' stairs. He was flowed by Ururu, who was carrying a tray of tea. Yourichi looked a bit annoyed, but I was glad we were going to have a rest – Yourichi was right, my stamina was not the best (hey, that sort of rhymed). I didn't really get tired by using my powers, but actually fighting took a lot out of me.

We climbed the stairs to get back into the shop part. Before we went back in, I took a last look at the giant canyon-place from the top of the stairs. It seemed so unreal, so cool and yet slightly scary at the same time – pretty much a metaphor for everything that was happening now, I guess.

I sat down at a low table, tea in front of me. A first, I thought Kisuke Urahara was a very odd, slightly crazy guy, but I was starting to like him. He was easy to be around, and made the whole situation lighter. Yourichi was very nice, too; she was a bit milder than me, but she was a great combat teacher.

"So," I said. "Are you guys gonna tell me about soul society and what's been going on? Like, Toshiro told me about the ranks of Shinigami and what happens when you die, hollows and Arrancar and all that stuff. But I still don't really know how this Aizen guy is connected to Soul Society, or Gin for that matter."

"Right," Yourichi said. "This might take a little while, but I suppose you have to know." "Both me and Yourichi were former captains, to start off." Urahara said. Wow, really? I didn't know that! I suppose they both did seem quite – "That's not a good place to start," Yourichi interrupted. "Let me do the talking for now."

And so, I was told about the recent (and not-so-recent) history of a world connected to my own.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A While Later … ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We looked at each other in silence for a minute after Yourichi had finished talking. My tea had gotten cold while I was listening.

"Wow," I finally said. "That's a lot to take in. This Aizen guy … yikes. He's pretty bad, then, huh?" Ok, that was a bit of an understatement. "Anyway, thanks for telling me everything. It helps a lot. So there are other humans like me? Humans who have odd powers, that is? I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, it's gotta happen every once in a while … it seems odd that we're all living in this area, though. Is there, like, some kind of supernatural thing going around here or what?" "Er … I don't think so," Urahara said.

"Right. Well … Is there anything else I should know?" I added the last part, because I saw Yourichi and Urahara exchange a supposed-to-be-private sidelong glance that got me suspicious.

Yourichi looked at me. "Actually, we wanted to discuss your powers a bit." _My powers? _"Alright. Shoot," I said. They both looked at me pretty strangely. "I mean, um, continue with what you were going to say. My powers, right? What did you want to discuss about them?" _I have to remember these guys are actually a couple hundred years old … but haven't they been living in the World of the – I mean, HERE – for a while now? Whatever, I suppose. _I smiled inwardly.

Maybe these Shinigami weren't so bad after all…

"_ICHIGO!"_

…What the heck was that?

Suddenly, a guy who was probably about my age jumped through the open window. He had bright orange hair and– ah, yes, I remember. It was Ichigo, the substitute Shinigami. He…

_Wait a minute_. I recognized that voice, the one that yelled –

**CRASH!**

All of a sudden, Kenpachi burst (No, literally, burst; it's completely destroyed now) through the door. Urahara jumped up while sputtering complaints, and Yourichi and I jumped out of the way of Kenpachi. A very good idea, considering he then charged right through where we were a minute ago and straight at Ichigo, the substitute Shinigami.

I haven't been here long enough to get the whole picture, but it looks like Kenpachi really wanted to fight this Ichigo – I think for a rematch or something. I probably shouldn't get involved. Not that I would want to; don't tell anyone, but I'm still kind of scared of Kenpachi. Well, actually, I think that's a reasonable reaction. I mean, just look at him!

"Yay! Go, Ken-chan, go!" Ah, yes. It wouldn't be complete without –

"Yay! Hiiiii, Purple-eyes!" …Yachiru.

She jumped into my chest, getting me by surprise and knocking me down. I yelped. "_Yaai!_ Um, Hello, Chiru-chan! Nice to see you! Now get off please." I tried to twist out from under her, to no avail. Man, was she strong! And it's not like I could really use any of my newly learned martial art skills on her… Firstly, I was not exactly the most skilled person at them, and secondly, I didn't want to accidentally hurt Yachiru.

But that doesn't mean I couldn't use my powers…

I stopped twisting and focused my chakra. Yachiru was still giggling and bouncing on top of my chest. My eye twitched slightly. Oh, she was very cute and all, but Yachiru was something best taken in non-concentrated doses … and preferably with much recuperating time between administrations. On second thought, I'm surprised Kenpachi is as sane as he is; maybe he's developed some kind of immunity, or just doesn't care. Or maybe she just messes with everyone else so much that she's relatively calm when she's with Kenpachi … although it's kind of hard to picture a calm Yachiru.

I pooled my chakra around her and slowly sort of … _pushed._

"WWWHHHEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Yachiru squealed. "Ken-chan! Look at me! I'm flying! …oh, he's gone. GOOD LUCK, KEN-CHAAAAAAN!"

_I hope Ichigo survives…_

I lowered Yachiru back to the floor, but closer to Urahara than to me, so she latched on to him instead. She grabbed his hand and started swinging from it, still giggling quietly. "Got any sweets?" She asked the shopkeeper. He ushered her into the kitchen to hopefully sedate her with sugar, grabbing my still-full tea cup as he went.

"No one ever drinks the tea around here," he muttered before leaving.

"Anyway," Yourichi said, turning to me. "About your powers." I nodded.

"I'll make it quick, so you can get back home before it gets dark. Your powers are extremely versatile, but what they lack is actual _strength." _I frowned. I did notice that none of my attacks made quite a large impact. Lightning was probably the most destructive and efficient, but it's also the one that I've used the most. Yourichi started talking again.

"Furthermore, you don't really plan that far ahead. Strategizing is important for you, as you have a wide range of skills, but none of them are extremely powerful." I nodded. Yourichi looked through the window; outside, it was turning dusk. "We can talk more about this tomorrow. You're starting school soon, right?" "Yea," I said. "I'll be going to the same place as Ichigo, I think…"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Meanwhile …~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gin drummed his fingers on the counter. It was pretty boring, once again. Hopefully, in the near future things would be getting a lot livelier in Hueco Mundo. Pretty soon, the next part of the plan would be put into action. Gin smiled.

Oh yes. They had made a plan, and it was a pretty good one. Well, Aizen had made a plan, that is.

However, Gin had also made his own plan, as Gin often does. And one way or another…

Let's just say that things were going to get a lot more interesting.

**~Woo! So, yea, that's it for now. Sorry! But I'll try and update sooner this time, and it should be a chapter with more action, as Sasalia and Anna will be going back to school.~**

_**Sasalia: *ehem?***_

_**Kiwi: …er… yes? (why are my characters suddenly apearning in the author notes?)**_

_**Sasalia: Actually, I like CrystalYumei's Idea. Egypt sounds like a very safe, Aizen-free place.**_

_**Kiwi: Nope! I've got a plan…**_

_**Sasalia: *Panicking* you sounded like Gin just then! Now I'm worried!**_

_**Kiwi: Hmmm, you may have to be… the next few chapters are going to be anything but peaceful.**_

_**Sasalia: …**_

_**Kiwi: Let's just say you may be visiting Aizen personally … pretty soon-ish.**_

_**Sasalia: WHAT?**_

_**Kiwi: Well, you see-**_

_**Sasalia: KAI! Bring Grimmjow and all the espada that won't kill me! I need backup!**_

_**Kiwi: *ehem* – WELL FOLKS – that's all for now! See you next time!**_

**~Please review, I'd love to hear anything you have to say about the story ... and once again, I'll try to update sooner this time! Really!~**

_**:) Bye for now! Kiwi out!  
**_


	12. Chapter 12

**~So guys! Things are gonna really get happening pretty soon, and there are only one or two more chapters to this story before my sequel, "**_**Crazy People, These Arrancar**_**", in which Anna and Sasalia are brought to Hueco Mundo!~**

_**SO, this is me- S .. This is Bleach - B .. This is the people who own Bleach- TK**_

_**Notice the absence of 'S' in 'people who own Bleach'.**_

**~Have fun, now! And internet cookies for Ginga no Yousei and anyone else who reviews! :)~**

CHAPTER TWELVE

Containing:

New School

Classmates

Spanish and Biology

And An Unexpected Visit

The early morning air in Karakura Town was pierced by a grating screech.

"I'lL EaT yOu, LiTtLe GiRlll!"

"Not likely. Yah!"

I ran and crouched, sliding backwards through the hollow's legs. When I was behind it, I gathered my chakra in my foot and shoved the hollow's back, hard; it flew, doing a somersault, and landed on its back. I used the (still rather immature) flash step that Yourichi had taught me to speed up to the hollow and apply downwards ax-kick to the hollow's mask, resulting in it cracking it apart. The hollow gave a monstrous shriek and disintegrated.

A familiar voice sounded behind me; "Sasalia, one. Hollow, zero!" I turned and grinned.

"Oh, hi, Anna! Sorry I didn't meet you at the curb, that guy distracted me." I waved my hand dismissively behind me at the churned-up dirt that was all that was left of the hollow, walking towards my long-time friend Anna. I grabbed my plaid-purple schoolbag from where I dropped it at the start of the quick fight with the hollow.

Anna smiled. "You're battling them much easier now, since you started training with those other Shinigami-whacha-ma-call'em guys." Despite the light words, she sounded a bit sad. I suppose she felt like she was being left out a bit, since she didn't have any powers of her own, and didn't accompany me on my training with Yourichi and Urahara. Really, I didn't want her getting mixed up in all this stuff, since she couldn't defend herself that well.

I shrugged, not knowing what to say. "Shall we go?" I said. Anna looked up, exited.

It was our first day of going to Karakura High. I looked over my schedule once more; first period History, then English, Spanish, Biology, and lunch, followed by Geometry, my elective (cooking) and lastly, Gym. Luckily, Anna and I had quite a few classes together; the only ones we didn't share were Spanish and Gym. I smiled at my luck. We started walking.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~At The School~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Anna and I walked into our first class, History, and sat down next to each other. I yawned. Despite this morning's spat with Lil' Hollow – it was a very small hollow, after all – I was still very tired. I was not what you would call an early bird, and unlike Anna, the idea of napping during class didn't appall me … not while I was this sleepy, at least. I yawed again, putting my head down on my arms and staring drowsily past Anna, at the door to our classroom.

That's when I saw it; a flash of orange. My head snapped back up, and I stared at the door. Anna looked up from the book she was reading (some gooey romance novel) and looked, too.

Anna studied the two people that were at the door; they didn't pause, but continued to their seats, which were close to us – in fact, one of them was sitting right next to Anna. Anna leaned back to me. "You you know those people?" she whispered. "Sort of," I whispered back, staring at one of the people again.

Finally, he looked up. He jumped slightly, then raised his hand in a greeting. I raised my eyebrows, but did the same. The short girl who was sitting next to Anna leaned over.

"What is it, Ichigo?" I heard her say.

I turned back to my desk.

That's right. I had forgotten that those two are students here, also. I just thought that since they were one year ahead of me, I wouldn't see them too often. However, History is a mixed class; a lot of my classes are, actually… I groaned. How could I have overlooked that?

Of course, Anna (being the friendly person that she is), turned around and stuck out her hand in greeting. "Hi, my name's Anna Shimizu. Nice to meet you!" The shorter girl smiled. "Shimizu, as in 'pure water'? How lovely! I'm Rukia Kuchiki. Nice to meet you, too!"

I raised an eyebrow. They both seemed so … school-girlish; it was a bit embarrassing to watch. Ichigo met my gaze and gave me an _'I know, right?'_ look. I smiled and rolled my eyes. Turning back to the two girls, I decided to interfere. Although Ichigo had recognized me as the human with the weird powers (he had once come in to see me training with Yourichi) I had never met Rukia before, though I sort of knew who she was. So …

Anna was still talking. "So, what do you like to do in your spare time?" she asked. I smiled. Rukia opened her mouth to answer…

"Battle hollows," I said.

Rukia closed her mouth and stared at me, then frowned. Ichigo, who took advantage of the silence, added, "…And attempt to draw pictures of rabbits to illustrate what she's trying to get me to do. _Attempt _being the key word." He then scooted away from her rather quickly (a wise choice, as it looked like she may have injured him if he hadn't).

Anna bit her lip. "Oh, so you're a Shinigami. I probably should have known that. There seem to be a lot of those around here … I mean, um …" I coughed, interrupting.

"Right, I don't think we've been introduced. I'm Sasalia Maki, a human with odd powers and whatnot. My friend Anna can see Hollows and stuff, but not fight them." I glanced around to make sure no one was listening. I defiantly didn't want anyone overhearing such an odd conversation.

"Oh, that's right! Hello!" Rukia took up her schoolgirl attitude again, much to my dismay. This was going to be an interesting year, if I had to be in first period with these guys every day …

Finally, the professor walked into the classroom with a 'quiet down'. I gratefully turned back to my seat. _Hopefully this will be my most eventful class I have …_

Unfortunately, that wish was most defiantly not granted.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Third Period, Spanish~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"…Red Pineapple!" "Gah! You!"

"_Por favor, ningunos enfrentamientos en clase!" _"…What?"

The teacher, Miss Lopez, sighed. "Please take your seats, and _No fighting in class_." I glared at Renji, then sat down in a huff. Actually, a part of me was glad to see him, as I remembered he was the one who got hurt by Gin that day on the roof... It was good to see he was okay. Mostly, though, I was annoyed.

These Shinigami seemed to be following me everywhere I went!

There were two other people, also Shinigami, who were with him. They were both the same rank as Renji, a lieutenant; Izuru Kira and Momo Hinamori, I believe. I turned back to Renji and stuck my tongue out at him.

"Nice to see you're okay, Pineapple," I said. "Wouldn't have wanted those weird tattoos to get messed up, now would we?" "Ha! I could say the same to you, little girl," he retorted. I narrowed my eyes. "I'm not LITTLE. And unlike you, I don't _have_ any weird tattoos." "Oh? Pardon me; it must just be your face, then." "WHY YOU –"

"_Atención, classe! Silencio, por favor. _And sit back down, Señorita Sasalia._"_

I sat down and glared at Renji while Miss Lopez organized some papers. The bell finally rang, and everyone quieted down. Well, except for Renji and I. Momo and Izuru were watching us, looking amused.

"So where's your little brown-haired friend?" Renji whispered. "Her name is Anna, and she's in a more advanced Spanish class then this," I whispered back. Renji looked around. "So what class is this?" He asked. I looked at him oddly. "Spanish Two, of course. How can you not know that?" "I dunno, I didn't really pay attention to the courses. Let's see, I don't know Spanish at all. Um, _guten tag_." "That's German!" "Oh really?" "Yes!" "What's the difference?"

Just then, we were both hit on the head with pieces of chalk.

"Señorita Maki and Señor Abarai, kindly wait until after class to talk. Now, _¿qué hora es?" _

"_Es diez y media," _I replied, turning back to the front of the room.

Miss Lopez nodded. "Very good. Now, when conjugating 'ir' verbs in Spanish …"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Time Skip to After Class~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Gaah, isn't it lunch yet?" Renji groaned. "No, we have one more class; biology," Momo said. I frowned, and asked, "Who do you have for biology?" "Mr. Kudo," Izuru said. It figures – these guys were in my biology class, too. Was this done on purpose?

I slipped out of class, trying to meet up with Anna so we could go to biology together. I walked down a tiled hall, searching through people. Unfortunately, I couldn't find her, so I made my way to the science lab, hoping she was there already.

She was. But also unfortunately, she wasn't alone. She was talking to someone with orange-ish hair and enormous breasts … _As if I don't have enough problems with Shinigami already, _I thought.

Rangiku turned and smiled. "Oh, hi! It's Sasalia!" Anna smiled, too. "Hi Sal! I met up with another one of your Shinigami friends. There sure are a lot of them here, huh?" I grimaced. Of course there were …

Renji, Momo, and Izuru walked in at that point, right before the bell rang. This time, I was sure to sit far away from Renji, on the other side of Anna.

Mr. Kudo walked in. "Hey guys! Today, even though it's the first day of school, we're going to be doing a simple lab. There isn't anything especially dangerous here, but you should still follow the directions carefully, got it?" The kids nodded and murmured. A lab on the first day? This looked like a fun class!

"Now, there are exactly thirty people and six lab tables, so get into ten groups of three people, two groups per table. You'll need a paper and pencil, I'll supply everything else. Ready? Go!"

Anna and I stood up. I rubbed my hands together. "Alright, who should we –"

Rangiku grabbed onto my arm. "Hey, Sal, Anna! Let's be a group, since Momo, Izuru and Renji are … alright, we can share a lab table with them!" Before I knew what happened, the three Shinigami lieutenants along with Rangiku, Anna and me were at one of the middle lab tables, which was cluttered with various test tubes in a rack, measuring cups, containers, small cardboard boxes and jars of colored liquid, along with two sheets of directions.

Mr. Kudo wrote a couple of simple chemical equations on the board, nothing I didn't recognize. "Alright, I'll pass out some goggles and rubber gloves, and that should be all you need for equipment. Remember to read each direction thoroughly and notify me immediately if anything gets spilled. You may proceed, have fun!"

Anna handed me a pair of gloves, which I put on, then bent over the directions. "First, we need to measure 2 milliliters of –" "Ooo! What's this stuff? It looks like something from Mayuri's lab!"

I looked over to whatever Rangiku was making a big deal out of, to find rooting though one of the cardboard boxes. There were a bunch of cotton balls and sealed beakers, one of which Rangiku had opened … she was messing with a ribbon of magnesium! I snatched it away with my gloved hands.

"This is highly flammable when exposed to water. It you're going to handle it, WEAR GLOVES. And for heaven's sake, don't you have any common sense? This could have been something toxic!" I carefully placed the magnesium back into the dry beaker and into the cardboard box.

"Anna, will you get out the iron, copper, and zinc nitrate?" _Because I don't want Rangiku handling them_, I added silently. I pulled on my safety goggles and readied six test tubes on the test tube rack. Anna pulled out the three powders. I thought the iron nitrate was rather pretty…

_Beep beep beep!_

Four cell phones went off at once.

I immediately sensed trouble, as the cells belonged to none other than the four Shinigami sitting around the table with us. Rangiku pulled out her cell phone and looked at the screen. She jumped up, looking at the others, who had drawn their cell phones, too.

"What is it?" I asked. Anna looked us over, the nitrates still in her hands.

Renji growled, "Arrancar!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Ten Minutes Ago, in Hueco Mundo … ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So, I'm not even gonna get to fight," Grimmjow said.

"Ne, not this time," Gin said. "But ya'll get to fight evench'ly. Ya get what yer suppos'd ta do?"

"Yea, yea, Gin-sama," Grimmjow said. "Alrighty, then!" Gin opened a garganta, and Grimmjow, followed by his fraccion, stepped through.

They were in the air above Karakura town (where else?) and it was midday. Grimmjow turned to the Arrancar behind him. "Okay. You know the deal. Go lure out the Shinigami from that school so I can move in." "Yes sir!" They all replied, and sonido'ed away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Back in Biology~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"…Arrancar!"

"What's that?" Anna asked, confused. I bit my lip, unsure how to explain. "It's like … um … a half-hollow. Sort of," I mumbled.

Meanwhile, Rangiku, Izuru, Renji, and Momo had all popped Soul Candy into their mouths. Momo jumped up, in full Shinigami robes.

"I'll find Toshiro – I mean Captain Hitsugaya – you guys go ahead!"

Rangiku nodded, as she and Izuru (both Shinigami-ified) ran outside through the classroom door, unseen to anyone other than Anna and me. Momo ran out into the hall, and Renji turned to Anna and me. "You guys stay here," he commanded, before following Rangiku.

Seeing as this probably didn't concern me, I chose to take his advice. I turned back to the bodies of the Shinigami, who were acting normal thanks to the Soul Candy. It freaked me out a bit.

"What was THAT?" Anna gasped. Oh, that's right. Anna didn't know about gigais. And now wasn't really the best time to explain…

"Everything going alright back there?" Mr. Kudo asked. "Ah, um, just fine!" I said cheerfully.

"I'll explain later," I whispered to Anna. "Now give me the iron nitrate, please."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Last Period of the Day~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

…And none of the others had gotten back yet. I made up my mind; after school, I would head over to Urahara's to see if anything had happened over there. I came out of the gymnasium, jogging over the paved gathering area towards the football field where the rest of my class were starting warm-ups…

…And all of a sudden, I felt a stifling presence.

I gasped. My steps faltered. My hands flew to my throat.

It was like someone was sitting on my chest, or squeezing my heart. My legs shook and my vision blurred slightly. I gave a strangled cough. Someone's spiritual pressure? I fell forwards and kneeled on the asphalt road.

What was this?

Who could have spiritual pressure this suffocating? I felt so small. What was going on? I couldn't fight like this; I could hardly stand. I sucked in breath through my gritted teeth and searched for my lightning energy within me.

A familiar spark; I found my energy, and let it loose.

Chakra coursed through my body, clearing my mind and the air. I stood up again. My hands still shook, but the horribly tight feeling was mostly gone. I took a deep breath and looked around.

Not too far away, the students on the football field were all on the ground. The coach, too. It looks like the spiritual pressure had knocked them out…

_Anna. _

She had Spanish this period. I had to go; no Shinigami or Arrancar was around here, anyway. I needed to find the source of the –

It ... vanished.

The presence I felt suddenly disappeared. Gone already? What was this supposed to be? A suffocating spiritual pressure that lasted for not even three minutes before disappearing, and I had no idea where it came from. I didn't know what was going on, but I had to make sure Anna was okay. She wasn't affected by the Shinigami, but this?

I ran towards the main school building.

**~Whewf! I'll try and write the next chapter ASAP!~**

**~HINT: Soon we discover that Anna … isn't as normal of a human as you might think…~**

**~Remember that Reviews = internet cookies! Thanks for reading! KIWI OUT!~**


	13. Chapter 13

**~HELLO AGAIN! The next chapter will be the LAST chapter! :) But there WILL be a sequel, obviously.~**

**~If you liked this story, then you'll like 'Crazy People, These Arrancar', the continuation for this. Now, read away, and remember that I don't own Bleach! Oh, if only. I'm just obsessed with it, is all.~**

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Containing:

Headaches

Grimmjow

Anna's Powers?

And Anna's decision

_The presence I felt suddenly disappeared. Gone already? What was this supposed to be? A suffocating spiritual pressure that lasted for not even three minutes before disappearing, and I had no idea where it came from. I didn't know what was going on, but I had to make sure Anna was okay. She wasn't affected by the Shinigami, but this?_

_I ran towards the main school building._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~In Spanish Class~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ANNA'S POINT OF VIEW

"_Siempre resuelvo esos problemas por la noche." "Muy bueno, señorita Anna. Pregunta de jerarquía..."_

Professora Castro moved on to the next person. I took a deep breath, lowering my head to my arms and closing my eyes. I was having one of those weird headaches again. They've become quite frequent now.

I haven't told anyone how bad they've gotten. In the beginning, my mom knew, but after a few trips to the doctors with nothing to show for it, I dropped the matter. I didn't want to cause trouble. Telling Sal would result in her worrying even more, which I didn't want. But if they kept up like this, I was gonna have to do something.

It wasn't a sharp pain, or even an ache, really. It felt like there was a metal balloon inside my head that kept expanding, or maybe the air pressure in my brain was going up. Bright lights didn't bother me, but my hearing always got muted whenever the headaches happened.

The funny thing is, the headache went away a bit whenever I got into a real conversation with someone, especially Sal. Not smalltalk, but talking about memories or a serious debate. Something you can really THINK about, and try to get into someone's mind, you know? That's why I'm in the debate club, despite not being very assertive. Perhaps it's just taking my mind off it, but I dunno…

I looked back up, gritting my teeth. My head pounded.

All of a sudden…

Professora Castro fainted.

I jumped up, for a second forgetting my headache. I looked around, but none of the other students were reacting. No, wait – it's not that they weren't reacting; it was that they were having problems of their own! Some students looked like they were choking; some had their hands clenched to their chest. Most were slumped over their desk or even on the floor, unconscious.

I ran towards the blackboard, grabbing Professora Castro. She was curled into a loose ball, and completely knocked out. Her breathing was irregular and ragged. Was there a gas leak or something? Why wasn't I affected? What …

I felt a rather ominous presence.

"Hey," a voice said. My headache made the voice muffled and quiet, but I could tell it was a strong and authoritative – though slightly bored-sounding – voice. I stood up, turned around, and gasped.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~In a Hallway~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"_Histugaya-taicho!"_

"Hinamori! Where's the Arrancar?"

Momo skid to a stop. "I'm not sure … Rangiku, Izuru, and Kira went to track the spiritual pressure. They went East."

Toshiro nodded. "Alright, stay here. I'll –" "Huh? I want to come –! I mean, I'm good at tracking spiritual pressure. I should –" "No, Momo," Toshiro said. Hinamori looked up, surprised that he used her first name.

"Stay here. You have to find Sasalia and make sure nothing happens to her. I know you're good at tracking spiritual pressure; I'd rather have you go, too. But we're so split up, and someone needs to stay here to watch Sasalia, and it's either you or me, since Ikkaku and Yumichika are still at Urahara's, which is where I'm going to go right now."

Momo nodded. She focused herself in finding Sal's spiritual pressure…

"One more thing, Hinamori," Toshiro said.

"Yes?"

"Just … be careful."

With that statement, he flash stepped away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Back to Anna~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Y-you're..." I stuttered, tensing up.

"Grimmjow Jeagerjack, Sexto Espada. You can see me, right? Great. You must be Anna."

I pressed my lips together, then said 'yes' quietly. I was suddenly much more aware of my surroundings; it felt like my body was lighter and more sensitive than ever. My headache was also the worst it had ever been. I swayed on my feet a little….

My brain gave an odd … swooping feeling.

_~Huh, she's that girl from the bakery. Shorter than I remembered._

…What?

Where the heck did that come from?

And my headache was … gone? So suddenly? I straightened up, looking at Grimmjow suspiciously. He glared back. "What?" He growled. Under normal circumstances, I would have been petrified at his tone. But right now…

"I'm not that short," I said slowly. Wait a minute … there was no way that those thought that randomly popped into my head were … HIS, right? Because that's insane.

It's insane…

"Huh, I was just thinking that you were," he said. "Anyway, since I'm not even_ allowed _to fight anyone while I'm here, let's get down to business so I can get back to Las Noches." He said 'allowed' very sarcastically. I raised my eyebrows. I was getting some … vibes, I suppose you could say, from him. What was going on, really?

"Allowed? So who's your boss?" I inquired, changing the subject. Grimmjow looked surprised and mostly annoyed. "Aizen," he said shortly. I could tell he didn't think much of this Aizen person. The name sounded familiar, though. It all had to do with Shinigami stuff, I'm sure…

"So, you know who I am, sort of?" Grimmjow asked. I looked over him, regarding my classmates from the corner of my eye. They all looked to be passed out. That was probably not a good thing.

"Sort of," I said grimly. "Why don't we take this somewhere else?" I looked around pointedly.

"Just what I was thinking," he said.

_~Easier than I expected._

That again! But I had no time to be speculating over things like that. Grimmjow was talking.

"Alright, girl, you're gonna get a treat. I'm taking you to a place called Hueco Mundo."

And with that, he snapped his fingers, and the very air behind him … opened.

"Whoa," I said quietly, impressed and even a bit frightened.

Then, I felt mad.

First these supposed _Shinigami _exploding out of their bodies, and now portals opening in the air? What else didn't I know about? I was living in a strange world, filled with souls and monsters, Shinigami and Arrancar. My best friend battled hollows and controlled lightning, as I was starting to … to _read minds_, maybe. My teacher and class were unconscious on the floor, and a blue-haired supernatural _Arrancar _person was standing in the middle of my class.

What was going on?

I really wanted that to be the last time I asked that.

So … I probably shouldn't have done it. But I was tired of being left out, being scared, being confused. I was tired of being a_ burden _and always being on the sidelines. I wanted to KNOW, I wanted to see for myself what was really happening. So …

I took a deep breath.

"Lead the way, Mister Grimmjow Jeagerjack. I want to know about this world you guys are in, and I've got a feeling this will get me some answers."

_~Huh, she's more determined that I first thought she was. Maybe she isn't so weak, after all._

I looked straight at him, much more confident now. "Thanks," I said. He blinked, but let it go.

"Ladies first."

I stepped through the blackness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Back to Sal~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I burst through the door to Anna's Spanish room. The teacher and the students were all knocked out here, too. It had been the same in every classroom I'd passed. I scanned the faces of the people slumped on desks and sprawled on the floor.

No Anna!

Where was she? Did she escape, or was she in some other part of the building? Was she taken by whoever this Arrancar person was, or…

Momo, also in her Shinigami form, ran into the classroom. "Sasalia!" she cried. "We've got to find Anna," I said, and ran out of the door she just came in by. She spun around and tailed me. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to try and find Anna's spiritual pressure," I said, running down the hall. "Alright. I'll help," she replied. Come to think of it, I wasn't exactly sure HOW to find someone's spiritual pressure. Of course, I knew Anna, so … maybe if I just kind of … concentrated on her? Then I could sort of hone in on her presence, or something. I gathered my chakra and centered myself, slowing the rate of my running slightly.

_Anna … where are you?_

_What are you doing? I can't find you. Where would you be? Can't you tell I'm looking for you? I can't feel you anywhere … I know that I would know if you were here. We're best friends, Anna… I know you better than anyone else. _

_Remember the day we first met? My mom invited you to come over, but I was completely ignoring you, still moping over my dad's death. Then I saw you in our garden, eating off the strawberry plant. At first I was mad. That was the strawberry plant that my dad and I planted together, and Mom said this might be the last year it bore fruit. But then I saw that you were planting some of the strawberries, and you taught me how to water them … and the next year, we had strawberries again. Ever since that day, you've loved strawberries so much … don't you remember, Anna? _

"Why can't I find her? Why isn't she here?"

"I don't know," Momo said. "but I can't find her either. It's like she completely disappeared!" I skidded to a stop and bit my lip.

Momo was about to say something, but just then, a trace of spiritual pressure appeared.

For a second, I broke out into a smile – but it crumbled quickly. It wasn't Anna's spiritual pressure that I was feeling; defiantly not. My previous smiled turned into a scowl as I recognized who it belonged to. First a huge Arrancar-spiritual pressure, then Anna was gone, and now this? What next? What was I going to tell my mom when she asks how my first day of school was?

It looked like Momo had sensed the new spiritual pressure also, because she suddenly grabbed my arm and used shunpo to speed down the hallway, in the opposite direction of where we were going. I lost my orientation for a minute, but quickly gathered myself and started a flash-step of my own. Momo let go of my arm.

"What's _he _doing here?" I said breathlessly, trying to keep up with her moderately speedy shunpo. "I don't know," Momo said, sounding frightened, "but we can't stay here. We're going to Urahara's, that should –"

"Hey, Hinamori-chan, Miss Lightnin'-chan. Long time no see, ne? …Maybe not."

We both stopped out flash-step and spun around. Of course he was following us. Really, the last thing we needed was this, on top of everything else … What else would go wrong today?

Gin smiled. "Yo," he said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Somewhere Not Far From There~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Arrancar had all disappeared.

Toshiro, Rangiku, Renji, Izuru, Ichigo and Rukia had defeated the Arrancar (Grimmjow's fraccion) while Kenpachi, Yachiru, Ikkaku, Yumichika, Urahara, and Yourichi held up the shop in case of an attack there. The Arrancar being defeated, Toshiro was about to send Renji and Rangiku back to the school to Momo and Sasalia, but that was when they felt the spiritual pressure.

Gin Ichimaru's spiritual pressure, that is.

"He's near the school!" Rangiku yelled.

"Crap! We've only got Momo there!" Toshiro said. "Great, Sasalia'll probably try to fight," Renji growled, sounding worried. Ichigo pulled out his sword once again. "Orihime and the others are there, too! What are we waiting for?" "Nothing. Let's go," Toshiro commanded.

They all flash-stepped as quickly as they could, practically flying towards the school building.

**~Whew! This has been really fun to write, I can't believe it's almost over… UNTILL the sequel, that is! Thanks to all of you who read, even if you don't review; but it would make my day so much better if you did, just so you know!~**

**~Till next time, KIWI!~**


	14. Chapter 14

**~I know, I know. I suck. For some reason, it was really hard to write the scene where Sal leaves. However, in my defense, this chapter is HUGE! So, it's been a while, but here I am: Kiwi, with the LAAAAAAST CHAPTEEEEER of 'Crazy People, These Shinigami'! …Before the sequel, that is. It's gonna be awesome! About Sal and Anna and Gin AND Grimmjow (he sort of plays a big part) all in Las Noches!~**

**~So, I'm sure you all know by now: I DON'T OWN BLEACH.~**

**~Thanks to all who have stuck with the story this far, even if you don't reveiw! Yes, that means YOU! :D And now, without further adieu, I present: ~**

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Containing:

A Request

Anna's Conversation

The Truth?

People like Him

A Departure

Orihime

And an Arrival

"Yo!"

"Ichimaru!" Momo hissed, and before I could stop her, she charged at him. He neatly sidestepped her, and she flew past him. While her back was turned, he hit her quickly and sharply on some precise point at the back of her neck – a pressure point. Momo collapsed, seemingly unconscious.

Just like that, Gin had quickly and quietly dispatched a lieutenant.

"Well," he said, turning to me. "Wasn' that excitin'?"

"What the hell do you want?" Was, of course, my reply, followed by a "…And where is Anna?" "Don' you get righ' ta th' point, ne? Well, as for what I wan'…" He cocked his head to the side. "Actually, I wan' yer help."

Silence.

Was he serious? And more importantly, why in the world would he think that I would ever help him? I stared at him and his fox-like expression. So, what was the catch? Surely he didn't believe I'd just …

My eyes widened. "Where's Anna?" I demanded, sinking into a fighting stance and readying my chakra. He chuckled. "Yer friend 'as already agreed ta help us." I snarled at him, but he continued on, seemingly oblivious to my rage. Not much was keeping me from charging at him just like Momo had … how I'd love to knock that smug, controlling, _mocking _smile off his face! But his next words succeeded in catching my attention.

"Ya know, she's not as much o' a normal human as ya might think, Miss Lightnin'-chan." I frowned, momentarily puzzled, though not loosening my fighting stance or lightening up on my application of spiritual pressure.

I was about to ask him what he meant, but just then, Gin gave an odd, small noise. It surprised me, since the noise sounded out-of-place for him; it was sort of worried, or maybe sad. Actually, he wasn't looking in my direction anymore, but off to the side, so I saw his face in profile. He had an odd expression on his face, and he wasn't smiling. What a difference. He didn't look so…

_He's Gin Ichimaru! _What are you doing, CONTEMPLATING things?

So I said, "What?" trying to sound irritated.

He looked back to me, and re-applied his signature grin. "Oh, nothin'. It's jus' … an old friend o' mine," he said. I raised my eyebrows, temporarily forgetting my assumed fighting pose. What was up with this guy?

"Oh really? I can't imagine anyone being an old _friend_ to you." "Ne? Well, it's …" Gin stopped, then chuckled. "_What?_" I growled, angry that he was taking this whole situation so lightly. "Well, I was jus' gonna say that it's none o' yer business, but actually the whole point o' me bein' here is that it _is_." Why must he always talk so cryptically? And in such a relaxed manner, too! For heaven's sake, he had just knocked out Momo!

Oh, crap. That's right.

_Don't let yourself be fooled by this guy. Remember what Yourichi and Urahara told you; he's a cold-blooded snake who sides with hollows, even if he does act…_

Act what – like a human? Playfully? Are you kidding me? What on earth am I thinking? Here I am, standing in almost a relaxed position, chatting with _Gin Ichimaru, _while a Shinigami lieutenant who I was beginning to think of as my friend lays unconscious a few feet behind him.

I shook my head to clear it.

"I believe I said before, I don't want to have anything to do with you." I said it firmly and precisely, in a no-nonsense sort of way. It didn't seem to faze him, though. Figures. "Ya don' even know what I'm tryin' to offer ya," Gin said in an almost good-natured tone. Luckily, I knew better. At least, I think I did.

My reply was once again stopped as the once-Shinigami continued.

"Yer friend, Anna-chan. She's a pretty interestin' girl." He paused, still smiling, to gauge my reaction, which I tried to keep blank. What was going on in that mind of his?

Gin kept talking. "I sen' Grimmjow, the sixth espada, ta collect 'er. Originally, I was jus' gonna see if I coul' get you ta come along by getting' 'er to side with us, but I discovered she has some powers o' her own."

My eyes widened. "Anna doesn't have any powers," I said accusingly.

"Ah, but she does," Gin said. "Nothin' that woulda shown up when ya were battlin' hollows, though. She's got more o' a … subtle power. Nothing super fancy like yers." I tried to scowl at him, but it ended up being more of an annoyed look.

"It's funny," he continued, almost musingly. "You, Sasalia, are wha' we migh' call a telekinetic. Yer flexible spiritual pressure, or _chakra, _lets ya manipulate things around ya, and it can even transform inta lightnin'. Anna, on the other hand, is more o' a telepath."

I blinked. I was pretty sure that was the first time he had used my actual name. And did he just say Anna was a … telepath?

"I … don't think I believe ya. I mean, I don't believe YOU." Now where had that come from? Listening to this guy was giving ME an accent, for heaven's sake. My lips tried to twitch upwards, but I forced them down. Focus, for God's sake! I shook my head once again.

_Cold-blooded snake … right?_

"If ya don' believe me, ya can see for yerself," Gin invited. "Come with me ta Hueco Mundo; ya'll understand everything once we get to Las Noches …But first, I wanna ask ya somethin'." He glanced away again. "We're gonna be interrupted in 'bout a minute, so listen up, ne?"

My lips parted. _Come with me to Hueco Mundo?_

"Sasalia, I wan' ya ta help me. Not help Aizen, help ME."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~In Hueco Mundo, With Anna~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So, this place is called…?"

"Las Noches."

"I see. And …"

"And what?"

I glared at him. Grimmjow. He didn't seem to want to make small talk, or explain anything about this place. I sighed. How boring. What should I do now?

"So where exactly are we going?" I asked.

"We, or rather _you,_ are going to see Aizen … _sama_. And before you ask, he's in charge of this place." I raised my eyebrows. "You sure don't sound like you like being bossed around, huh?" Grimmjow managed to glare at me without actually looking at me. How rude.

He and I were walking down white corridor after white corridor, side by side. It looked like it was going to be a long walk until we got to … wherever we were going, so I decided to test out my possibly-existent, new-found and rather untested power of possible mind reading. If that was what it really was, of course; although I suppose those incidents where I thought I read Grimmjow's mind couldn't really be put off to mere intuition, could it? "_~Huh, she's that girl from the bakery … ~She's more determined that I first thought she was … ~Maybe she isn't so weak, after all …" _So, then.

This time, I tried to control it more. I focused my thoughts and sort of expanded my awareness of Grimmjow's being.

_~Gahh, why do _I_ have to be the one to escort her, anyway?_

Wow, already? Did I really just –

_~I've got better things to do than this … I could be fighting in the World of the Living right now._

…Well, jeeze. I probably could have deduced that he was thinking _that_ from looking at his expression; he really didn't make an effort to hide what he was thinking, did he? But then, maybe that's why he was so easy for me to read. I thought about it, suddenly glad that _he_ was the one who came to pick me up. I focused on his mind again. Naturally, he was thinking more thoughts about violence.

"Fighting isn't everything, you know," I remarked casually. Grimmjow glanced at me sharply, then stopped walking and stood in front of me. I almost crashed into him.

Straightening up, I looked up at his face (I had to stretch; he was a lot taller than me); Grimmjow was looking at me in a very frustrated manner. Probably a reasonable thing to feel, seeing as I was sort of exhibiting odd abilities – abilities that he was undoubtedly going to question me about.

"Okay, what are you doing? Or, how are you doing it? Does Aizen know –" Yup, there they were. "I thought you didn't care what Aizen thought," I pointed out. He glared at me.

"I never said that." "You implied it." "Yea? So what?" "So nothing. I'm not trying to start anything." "You sure sound like you are, girl." "Well, I'm not. I'm just pointing out the fact that you seem to think rather negatively of being bossed around." "Think? So you can read minds!" "Well, I never said that." "You implied it!"

I had to laugh at that, which seemed to make him mad. Maybe he didn't think I was taking him seriously. Actually, I was a bit amazed at how relaxed I was being; after all, this was surely a very powerful guy. He looked rather scary, too. But somehow…

"Nevermind," I said, shaking my head. I went to walk past Grimmjow, but he grabbed my arm.

"Outwardly, you look like an ordinary human girl with almost no spiritual pressure to speak of, but you aren't affected by high spiritual pressure at all. Ichimaru said to bring you to Las Noches, but he didn't give a reason why. Now you're starting to read minds. Who the hell are you, anyway?"

I looked at him a bit sadly. "You know, I'm not entirely sure, myself. Are any of us, really?"

Grimmjow huffed and let go of my arm. "I don't do philosophical stuff," he said blatantly. I smiled; it's true, he didn't seem to be the type. He was more of the type who … what, exactly?

"Well, at least you know that much," I said in a reasonable matter. "Sometimes, I really have no clue –" "Well, whatever. I need you to … I have to bring you to the throne room, or whatever. Aizen, remember?" Grimmjow started walking again. I nodded, then bit my lip, hurrying after him. Actually, I was pretty sure Aizen was the bad guy; still, though, I wanted some answers … and it wasn't like I really had that much of a choice in the matter, was it?

Right.

I stared at the back of Grimmjow's head, not trying to read him mind this time. Just contemplating. He must have felt my stare, though, because he turned around and looked at me. This time, he was careful to leave his face looking normal and bored; or maybe that was just the way he was actually feeling. It looked that way.

That's right … this guy …

He doesn't except authority well. He doesn't keep his emotions in check or hide his thoughts. He isn't impressed by much, but is easily annoyed. He doesn't exactly flaunt his title as the sexta Espada, but he's far from humble. Violence doesn't bother him; he actually likes fighting. And he stands up for what he believes in.

Huh.

"What're you making that face for, girl?" Grimmjow demanded. My smile widened slightly.

"Oh, nothing. I was just thinking that … I like people like you, is all."

"You like… people…"

"And my name is Anna Shimizu, not girl. Now, let's go meet this Aizen guy!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~In the Human World…~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Toshiro, Rangiku, Renji, Izuru, Ichigo and Rukia were done fighting the Arrancar; luckily coming off with only minor wounds. But then, a familiar spiritual pressure… Gin Ichimaru.

"He's near the school!" Rangiku yelled. "Crap! We've only got Momo there!" Toshiro said. "Great, Sasalia'll probably try to fight," Renji growled, sounding worried. Ichigo pulled out his sword once again. "Orihime and the others are there, too! What are we waiting for?" "Nothing. Let's go," Toshiro commanded.

They spun around and flash stepped towards the school building. It took them about a minute to get there, and a minute more to find out exactly where the people they were looking for were. They finally found them, a little bit away from the school, but it turns out that it took them about two minutes too long.

There were a total of three people in the clearing; two standing, and one crumpled and unconscious on the ground. Instantly, there was an uproar as the standing figures were made out to be Sasalia and, of course, Gin. It was only made worse when Toshiro saw that Momo was the one unconscious.

Izuru quickly grabbed Momo and flash stepped away. Everyone else took out their swords, if they didn't have them already. Ichigo and Renji both stepped in front of Rukia, and Rangiku looked about ready to release her shikai but was waiting for her captain's orders. Toshiro, however, wasn't giving any orders. What he was doing was charging sword-first at Gin.

Everybody faltered when Sasalia stepped in front of him.

Toshiro skidded back, eyes wide, "What the heck are you doing?" he demanded. "Sasalia, get away!" Renji yelled. "Look, you guys –" Sasalia stared. But, before she could continue, there was a sound of a large explosion coming from the school. It knocked most of the Shinigami to their knees. Gin caught Sal before she could fall.

"Crap! Everyone's still back there!" Ichigo yelled, jumping up and flash stepping away. "Ichigo!" Rukia yelled, scrambling up and following him.

In the moment when everyone was distracted, Gin snapped his fingers, and a garganta opened up. Sasalia's purple eyed widened. "Whoa," she muttered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Sal's Point of view~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I looked at the portal Gin had summoned, impressed. I was about to say something, but suddenly, Renji came up between Gin and me, grabbed my arm, and pushed me away.

"What the hell!" I cried. "Get off me!"

"Are you kidding? What are you thinking, anyway? Let's go! We're –" I pushed him off, and slid around him so I was standing in from of Gin once again. I shook my head. "Listen, there's-"

Another, slightly smaller explosion rattled the ground.

"Gin," Rangiku said. "What are you doing here?" "Yo, Ran-chan. Long time no see." "Skip the formalities, Ichimaru," Toshiro said in an icy tone. I tried again to settle the situation. "Look, everybody just –"

Toshiro, Renji, and Rangiku all started to talk – or, more accurately, yell – at the same time. I groaned.

Suddenly, Gin grabbed my arm and pushed me into the portal – what did they call it? a garganta? – and I fell backwards.

The last thing I saw was Toshiro rushing, one again, towards Gin.

Then I landed on a mound of pillows, and there was a sparsely dressed kid with light green hair and some kind of horned half-helmet standing over me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~With Ichigo, Momo, Izuru, and Rukia (at the school) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The four of them, with Izuru supporting Momo, landed close to the school. Ichigo turned to the others.

"You guys stay here. I'll go check out those explosions."

Rukia shook her head. "I'm coming with you. It'll be dangerous, and you'll need someone with some common sense there to help you out." Izuru nodded. "You two go ahead. Hinamori's fine, just unconscious, so I'm going to take her back to the shop and report to Urahara." "Sounds like a plan to me," Ichigo said. "Let's go."

They separated, flash stepping off in two different directions.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~At Urahara's shop~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Oh no, Purple-Eyes!" a dismayed Yachiru exclaimed.

As soon as Izuru had given the report, Kenpachi sped off to the clearing to fight (to the surprise of no one), but Yachiru had stayed to hear the whole story. Ikkaku and Yumichika were also present, as was Yourichi (who had just finished treating Momo), but Urahara had followed Kenpachi to the clearing.

"So, what do we do now?" Yourichi asked.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Back at the school~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_"Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man…!" _Rukia chanted as Ichigo took on three of the five arrancar who had been attacking the school. They had managed to lure the arrancar – recognized as the fraccion of Grimmjow – to a more secluded area, away from all the unconscious humans back at the school.

"…_Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south!"_

"You guys again, huh? Didn't the others deal with you?" Ichigo asked, dodging a blow from a blonde arrancar. He kicked the fraccion to the side and swung his sword at another, only to be forced back as the third came up at him from the side.

"Hadō number thirty-one! _Shakkahō!" _Ichigo jumped out of the way of the large blast of red energy. In the second after the explosion, he took advantage of the smoke to land a devastating hit on one of the arrancar. However, another came up behind him and cut him in the shoulder.

Ichigo jumped back and the smoke cleared. Rukia's spell had dealt with one of the two arrancar she was fighting, and Ichigo had dispatched one of his. They were still up three, though, and those three were looking like they were about to get serious. Furthermore, Rukia and Ichigo had gotten a few injuries in the fight so far, not to mention that they had been running around all day. The fight was not going in their favor.

The tall arrancar in the middle raised his sword. "All right, play time is over. Behold, our _resurrection _releases!"

However, before he could release his sword, they were enveloped by a volley of blue arrows.

Chad and Ishida landed in front of Rukia and Ichigo. "You two get to Sal and the others. We'll take care of these guys."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~At the clearing~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"He got away, huh?" Urahara sighed. He and Kenpachi had arrived at the clearing, but before they got there, Gin had managed to put enough distance between Toshiro, Rangiku, Renji and himself to create a garganta and slip through before the others could reach him.

Kenpachi was sulking, muttering something about 'never getting to fight these days'.

Toshiro answered in the affirmative, and Urahara replied, "Well, seeing as how we can't follow them, we'd better regroup at the shop. Judging by the decrease of spiritual pressure from the school, I'd say Ichigo and Rukia won whatever battle they were fighting."

"What are we going to do about Sasalia?" Renji asked.

"There's not much we _can_ do, right now," Toshiro said. "We'll just have to contact the Soul Society and –"

Ichigo and Rukia suddenly sped into the clearing. Before they could ask any questions, Rangiku said, "They're gone." A brief explanation followed, and the decision was made to discuss what to do after everyone was gathered together.

"I told Chad and Ishida to get to the shop, too. So –wait a minute." Ichigo said, frowning.

"Where's Orihime?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~In Las Noches~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Who the hell are you?" the green-haired girl asked.

"Um," was my intelligent reply.

"Sasalia Maki, I guess," a deeper and lazy-sounding voice said. I turned around and saw a tall man with long, dark-brown hair who was dressed all in white. He looked at me with a bored expression.

"I'm Coyote Starrk. This is Lilynette Gingerback. Guess I have to take you to Aizen's room, now. That's what Gin said, anyway." I blinked, trying to gather in my surroundings. "So, let's go," the man – Starrk – said. "What a pain."

"Um … yea … sure," I said. I scrambled up and out of the pile of pillows. _These guys are all arrancar, right?_ I cleared my throat.

"Have you guys seen my friend Anna? She's human, short brown hair, wearing –"

"Nope," Lilynette said. "We've just been in here the whole time. So anyway, you're Sasalia? That's a weird name." I twitched and retaliated. "So what kind of name is 'Lilynette', then? I've heard of Lily. But never Lilynette." "Girl's got a point," Starrk drawled. He walked over to the door and held it open for us.

"Shall we?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~In the throne room~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well, dang.

I looked up, stretching my neck. That was one huge throne. This Aizen guy must have one heck of an ego.

A voice sounded from the top of the throne mountain.

"Ah, Sasalia. It's nice to meet you." What? Was I supposed to respond to that? How? I looked behind me, but Starrk and Lilynette had walked over to the side of the room and were relaxing against a wall. Looking around, there were a whole bunch arrancar around the room. Including –

Blue-haired guy! That arrancar from the pastry shop! And then there was –

Anna!

She was standing closer to the throne, looking back at me, smiling slightly. And next to her was… someone else. It was a girl with long orange hair and wearing the same school uniform as Anna and I – oh yea, that was Orihime Inoue. Wait. What was _she_ doing here? I doubted she had the same reason to be here as I did. Gin never mentioned Orihime at all. And why did Anna think she was here? Suddenly I remembered what Gin said about Anna having strange powers.

Boy, things were getting pretty hectic. The shinigami must be crazy, to live in a world like this...

"Boo."

"AAAHH!"

I spun around. Gin – of course it was Gin, who else? – was leaning down and smiling at me. Geeze! When did he even get here? For heaven's sake…

"Gin, nice of you to join us. Since we're all together now, why don't we introduce ourselves?" Aizen looked down at us expectantly. He wasn't even bothering to introduce himself first?

Anna, to my surprise, stepped forward. "My name's Anna Shimizu. Apparently I'm a telepath or something. Mostly, I came here to figure out the world – the real world, not just the human world – and so I could know what's going on. Although I don't know why YOU guys want me here."

I raised my eyebrows. What?

Realizing that everyone was looking at me next, I stepped up, too. "I'm Sasalia Maki. Um, I guess you could classify me as a telekinetic, mostly, although my powers have been described as 'manipulating spiritual pressure'. I'm here …" _Don't mention Gin's plan … _"I'm here so I can learn how to control my powers, and be with Anna." Aizen seemed satisfied with that.

"Orihime Inoue," A small voice said. Orihime sounded like she didn't want to be here. "As Aizen-sama just said before Anna and Sasalia got here, my powers are _reversal of phenomenon_."

I noticed that she didn't include why she was here, but I was mainly thinking about something else. Her powers … reversal of whatnow? What did that even mean? I was confused. Anna, on the other hand, was looking at Orihime with something like awe. I could tell she wanted to start asking questions, but it would have to wait for some other time, because Aizen was talking again.

"You three girls are going to be training to master your powers here, and will eventually aid, us in one way or another, in the upcoming battles. Ulquiorra will be assigned with guarding Orihime. Grimmjow will guard Anna, and Starrk will guard Sasalia. You are dismissed for now."

Aid in the upcoming battles, huh? That's what he thought. …Wait, what did he say about guardians? I looked back at Gin. He was still smiling, of course. "Ne, they're havin' the primera Espada guard ya? Ah wonder…"

Whatever Gin wondered I never found out, because Lilynette was suddenly grabbing my arm. "Yea! Let's go! I wanna see your powers!" she demanded. I smiled slightly, and heard a giggle from behind me.

"Anna!" I said. She waved cheerily. Looks like she didn't find any of this to be too weird … that was good, I guess. It wouldn't do to have her freaking out now. Frowning slightly, I looked at the arrancar who was walking beside Anna; he was blue-haired arrancar who had attacked at the bakery. Grimmjow was his name, was it? I noticed that he had a thoroughly annoyed look on his face.

Orihime, on the other hand, was walking quietly away, following that Ulquiorra guy. I tried to catch her eye was she passed, but she didn't look back. I wondered what her story was.

Lilynette pulled on my arm again. "C'mon!" she said. Anna rolled her eyes at me. "Catch up with you later, I guess," she said. I tried to keep the smile on my face.

"Yea, okay," I said.

"See ya."

Lilynette pulled me towards the door, with Starrk following behind. Suddenly, I recalled everything Urahara had told me, all the training sessions Yourichi had done with me, all the talks and encounters with Toshiro and Renji and all the other shinigami. I had sort of left without an explanation… and my parents! Crap, this was the first time I had thought about them since my talk with Gin … I didn't even leave a note.

The thing was, what I was doing here was really important. I saw that now. No matter what, I had to do what I was doing, even if I didn't like it… after all, the fate of the world kinda depended on it. Well, not solely on my, but partially on me. _Although, I hope I'm not in over my head, here…_

I glanced down at the strong-willed little arrancar that was tugging me along. She was still talking about something – actually, it sounded like she was insulting Starrk to me, though in a good-natured and sort of fond way. Starrk had a bored expression on his face, like he'd heard it all before. But it was still kinda cute.

Well, maybe saving the world could be fun.


End file.
